National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung Taiwan

Taichung

National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

Established in 1988, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts houses collections and works by Taiwanese artists. The artwork ranges from traditional Taiwanese art, contemporary art to modern art. It was temporarily closed for renovation in 1999 due to the damage caused by the 921 earthquake and reopened in July 2004. Since then the museum began to showcase digital art related exhibitions, events and forums. Below are videos of place from my IG story.

Upon visiting the art museum, you’ll chance upon two shops that sells mostly art related supplies, books, trinkets, and a lot more. The choices were endless. The one that I wanted to purchase was a Van Gogh merch and an Alphonse Mucha item but it was so pricey so I didn’t bother to get it but when I visit again. I might.

The Alphonse Mucha items on display in the NMoFA store.

The Museum also has an art library, cafeteria and areas for kids and teachers. The whole area measures 102,000 square meters making it the largest art museum in Asia. It’s a great place to visit and explore because of the endless display of artworks that were definitely a feast to the eyes.

Take note, I did not show too much photos of the artworks displayed in the museum since for some collections, the artist would not allow to take a photo of it. I believe it is because many people take photos of artworks for social media when they visit a museum and never fully grasp the meaning and some would just read the description then take a photo. Artwork whether traditional or digital takes long hours to do and some artists would finish their work for as long as two years so I guess it’s also a sign of disrespect if you just take a photo of works of art and think it’s aesthetically pleasing.  I remember back in college when I took a life drawing class, we were going to imitate my professor’s work. He neatly displayed it in-front but we can’t all see it especially at the back row. It’s like a dot to us so we all started taking a photo of the artwork and he just go really angry and said that if we want to draw it. We should come forward.. yeah.. I guess my prof was a camera hater loljk but I would always vividly remember that scene so I was always careful if I would take a photo of artworks in museum.

Either way, it’s 2020 and we are in a technologically driven world. We’re stuck in quarantine and some museums are having virtual tours. Maybe soon it won’t be a big thing taking photos of works of art. Anyway, It is better to visit the place, it’s definitely worth it.

Official Website

Entrance Fee: FREE

Opening Hours:

Address:

Address No.2, Sec. 1, Wuquan W. Rd., West Dist., Taichung City

Transportation:

From Taipei, you can ride a bus or Train (TRA) going to Taichung. For more information, you can check this link here. Taxi is also a good option if you’re crunch for time. Note that it’ll be too expensive though.

If you’re in Taichung:

Travel to TRA Taichung Station → Taichung City Bus (No. 71, 75, or 89) to National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

Source: Tourism Bureau, Taiwan

For me, usually, I just wing it since traveling in Taiwan is pretty easy and simple. I use google maps or a Taiwan bus app.

Traveling During the COVID Outbreak: How Taiwan Handled The Coronavirus Based On My Experience.

As if my blog posts did not need any more topics about Taiwan. I realized I frequently travel to this country a lot because it’s near the Philippines and it’s one of my favorite places to visit but I noticed that I’ve been experiencing some strange events in my travels lately. Months ago I went to Hong Kong where we almost bumped into a group of rallyists and now I traveled to another country during a pandemic.

I figured I would share my experience when I travelled to Taiwan back in March 2020. Let’s jump back to before the lockdown happened. I was fortunate enough to travel to Taiwan aside from a few stressful hotel and flight reschedules here and there. Me and my friends booked our flight to Taiwan last September 2019 and then we booked our hotel in January 2020– months before the Coronavirus outbreak happened.

When the Coronavirus outbreak became critical back in late February our flight inevitably had multiple reschedules and cancellations from the airline. I cannot even count how many reschedules we had and cancellations we faced. Due to this one of our friends gave up because she was scared to fly not only because of the virus but also because her employer is requiring her to be self-quarantined for 14 days if she returns back to Manila. Stress added when the Philippine government issued a travel ban to Taiwan and if we had to leave the country we needed to be quarantined for 14-days. Thankfully the travel ban to Taiwan has been lifted since they only had few cases of the virus compared to other countries. 

Originally we booked our flight on March 17th, 2020 and the date was fast approaching. We thought that it was all well and done until my friend checked our flight days before and found out that it was cancelled, without announcements from the airline! Because on the date of our flight the government was issuing a lockdown and many people are scrambling to book airlines on or before that date. We panicked and had to thoroughly check airlines that had available flights for that date and well, there was none. 

It was intense. 

We wanted to leave the country and just travel for pleasure because we were stressed at work and wanted to enjoy and just have good food and see the best places. And yes, what we were doing was risking our lives, our family and friends were stopping us and sending us news about the virus and lockdown. It was an ‘Us against world’ kind of moment but since it’s already booked and me and my friend, knowing each other for so long doing the craziest things ever since high school, we decided to push through with it.

Before, doing this was stress-free but now what we were going through was utter hell. I had to cancel a hotel booking for the second time and me, being superstitious, thought that traveling there might not be meant to be with all the cancellations we were facing and stress we were going through with refunds but we got through it with teamwork. We both agreed to reschedule the flight as early as March 15th, 2020 as with a sheer amount of luck my friend saw an available flight for that date. We finally departed from Manila and flew to Taiwan on the morning of March 15th, 2020. 

Taiwan’s Preparedness: 

Traveling with masks has become all new to me. The plane we were on had fewer people and what I found different was we were not only given an arrival card but also a health slip with questions such as, if you’ve been sick for the past few days. And if you don’t wear a mask throughout your travel in Taiwan you’ll be fined a big amount. 

After arriving in Taiwan we headed towards the immigration and the first thing that greeted us was a team of airport security checking temperatures, asking questions about people’s travel history and if they had been sick for the last few months. They were all wearing face masks, had sanitizers on their table, and wore protective gear. The level of precautions taken in Taiwan is nothing like what I saw back in Manila. After giving the health slip to one of the officers, we had to go pass through a temperature check area then the immigration. 

I noticed these signs on the elevators everywhere in the airport. They are really taking precautions in a whole other level. 

Using Resources Such As Tech & Digital Platforms As Well As Learning From Past Experience: 

Once we got out of the airport and rode a train to the city everybody was wearing face masks. From the hotel we stayed in, to the bus drivers, all of the citizens were wearing it.

In the MRT they were practicing social distancing, yeah, they would be close to each other in trains because of the seating but they would create a little gap especially in crowded areas. 

And I was surprised that Taiwan had these cute posters of Shiba Inu’s being sick. One poster had a Shiba Inu sneezing and two of its friends are covering their faces with masks.

Even buildings in Taiwan are sanitized. This is in Taipei 101 I didn’t get to take a photo on the entrance which says “This building is sanitized every 2 hours” or somewhere along those lines.

Throughout my stay in Taiwan I got to learn why they handled the virus very well. I was always checking the news since there were rumors that Metro Manila is banning local and international flights.

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Which means there’s a possibility for us to be stuck in Taiwan still, it remained very unclear to us as the news outlets were giving different kinds of information to the point that it got confusing as hell. So me, being anxious AF had to tune in to the news about Manila and Taiwan from time to time.

Anyway, I learned that the reason why Taiwan efficiently managed the Coronavirus was because they learned hard lessons from the 2003 SARS epidemic, from this experience the Taiwanese established a central command centre called the Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan) or in-short CECC for epidemics in case another outbreak might happen in the future.

Taiwan informed the World Health Organization (WHO) when they first learned that there had been a mysterious case of pneumonia emerging in Wuhan. They informed WHO through the International Health Regulations (IHR) a framework coordinated by WHO to let countries be informed of possible public health events but as WHO doesn’t consider Taiwan as a country since they’re part of the “One-China” principle they dismissed the claim. Oooof ~*Politics*~ i’m not going to further explain that my blog post will get longer…moving on~ 😜

Another fact is that Taiwan is also well known for its impressive health care system. All of these reasons are why they were able to proactively inform their citizens of measurements to take to prevent the virus using online platforms and digital media ads. You’ll definitely be informed no doubt. That cute Shiba Inu poster definitely made me remember to wear a mask, use alcohol every now and then, and cover my mouth when I sneeze. Due to their preparedness and urgency in handling the crisis they’re ahead of other countries in preventing the virus which is why as of this writing they currently have 429 cases.

Teamwork & Collaborative Effort: 

You also have to notice their citizens participation. At the hotel we were staying at I noticed the front lobby was frequently watching the news, well I notice most of the Taiwanese were. Not many people go out and the buses in the city were mostly empty except for the train station though. Throughout all this the Taiwanese citizens are well informed and follow executive orders. Think about it. If citizens won’t listen then what would happen? Despite the measurements Taiwan is doing, it will be worthless if their people aren’t following orders to help combat the virus. So yeah, teamwork, collaborative effort and fighting the Coronavirus as a nation is what I’ve noticed also. And their President, Tsai Ing-wen is very hands-on. 

Side note: Now I just noticed this but I find President Tsai Ing-wen’s name very interesting. Her name in Chinese characters is read as 蔡英文 the last two Chinese characters 英文 (yīng wén) literally translates to English, correct me if i’m wrong. So her last name would mean ‘English’? I guess? I just find it very cool and amusing.

While we were on one of our trips to Shifen surprisingly there were other nationals taking the tour and the bus was full. In the middle of the tour our Klook tour guide announced that Malaysia and Singapore had already issued a lockdown at that time since we were traveling with Malaysian nationals. We were worried ourselves as there were rumors that Taiwan is banning foreign nationals from entering the country due to the impact of the virus and people are not allowed to leave the country. It was also at that day where it was announced that travel to and from Metro Manila is suspended.

My anxiety was rising through the roof with all the news we’ve been reading so we decided to reschedule our flight back to Manila on March 19th, 2020. Me and my friend were worried because what if we were stuck there until the ban had been lifted? We did have two options if that were to happen but I was still having second thoughts as while it was okay with me being stuck there because I’m unemployed I was worried for my friend who has a job. What if she gets fired because she couldn’t travel back to Manila?

 

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There was a time where we had accepted our fate of staying for a month if that would ever happen. Another thing happened, by another sheer amount of luck our hotel room was upgraded. We each get our own room it was then that we were at the point where we were enjoying yummy Taiwanese food, the cold weather and a tour that we wanted to stay a little longer so me and my friend decided to have a serious talk before deciding to reschedule our flight back to the original departure date which was March 22nd. With that being a sudden decision we couldn’t change the rescheduled flight as it’s already departing on the day we decided to change it. We had no choice but to travel back to Manila.

Right now at Taouyan, Taiwan 🇹🇼 airport before immigration. Just being here now makes you want to self-quarantine 😨😨😨 #COVID19
Tip: if you have a Taiwanese mobile number you can skip the massive queue by registering online via special app. pic.twitter.com/uQupSPPKlq

— Sky (TPE 🇹🇼, SG 🇸🇬, TKO 🇯🇵) (@famouslabs) March 18, 2020

At Taoyuan International Airport we encountered a long line at the arrivals area with airport security holding a sign that emphasized “Quarantine for 14 days”. Coincidentally it was the date where Taiwan announced that foreigners were banned from entering the country so people who just arrived in Taiwan were all scheduled to be self-quarantined. Out of curiosity when I got back to Manila, I ended up researching what happened to the people at the airport. Since we had difficulty getting transport back to our house as we landed early in the morning, the Philippine government wasn’t allowing transportations from 8 PM until 8 AM. So we had to excruciatingly wait at the airport tired and hungry. 

Apparently, the Taiwan government partnered with hotels so that people who just arrived in Taiwan will stay there for quarantine, they have also partnered with private taxi’s to transport the visitors back to their house/their hotel. Along with this they’ve created a mobile phone-based “electronic fence” that uses location-tracking to help them track citizens who are quarantined and ensure that they stay in their homes. This does pose a privacy threat for other people as it feels like you’re every move is being watched but it’s the only thing that prevents the virus from spreading as of now.

Me and my friend at Taipei 101 ❤️

Well aside from that, we did have a lot of fun during our travel to Taiwan. It was my friend’s first international flight which is the reason why we went through with the flight. She loved Taiwan and is willing to go back again someday.

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Leaving this cute little Corgi I found in a mall at Ximending. And another poster of Shiba Inus I took at their MRT station. Their obsession with Shiba Inus izzz reallll~~~

What about you guys how are you and how have you been coping during this quarantine period? I’ve heard that traveling this year won’t be possible and will merely be just a dream but that won’t stop travel bugs like us from preparing travel plans for the future. Any plans on where you want to travel in 2021? 🐱

Travel Taiwan: Artsy? Check out these Instagram Worthy Places in Taiwan

There’s more to explore in Taiwan aside from its lively night markets brimming with awesome street food, this country is also overflowing with vibrant art spots that are worth the visit!

Yes, I know what you’re going to say about my outfit. Don’t worry, I was told by some random grandma in Taipei on why I wasn’t in school. 😂

Painted Animation Lane:

If you’re a die-hard anime fan this place is definitely for you! The Painted Animation Lane is located in a quiet neighborhood in Taichung. The street walls are decorated with chockful of anime paintings ranging from beloved classics such as One Piece, Dragon Ball, Ghost Fighter, Hunter x Hunter to modern-day favorites such as Assassination Classroom, Kuroko no Basket and many more!

The best thing about it? No entrance fee since it’s located in a neighborhood, just don’t make so much noise while taking selfies since it’s still a residential area.

Address: Lane 100, Linsen Road, West District, Taichung City, Taiwan 403

 

Rainbow Village:

When you get to the Rainbow Village, you won’t miss it as the place boasts a punch of vibrant, eye-catching design. The place is painted with colorful and quirky works of art, and the creator behind it? A former soldier by the name of Huang Yung-fu or also known as the ‘Rainbow Grandpa’. He draws inspiration from celebrities, singers, animals and things that he likes.

Behind the eye-catching colorful works of art is also an awe-inspiring story.  Huang Yung-fu painted the village to protect some of the homes as it was at risk for demolition in attempts to build a more modern apartment complex. He was offered money or housing to have him move to a different house but Huang refused to accept it, he considered the place as his home in Taiwan so that’s when he decided to paint. Eventually, his artwork was discovered by local university students. The students launched a campaign to save the village, thanks to that the authorities agreed for the place to be preserved. Now it’s considered a tourist attraction, drawing in more than a million visitors yearly. Huang also gets to keep his home!

I was happy that I was able to spot him while I was visiting Taichung last 2018, he was busy painting, creating more amazing artworks for this village and I didn’t want to disturb him. If you’re lucky you can spot him drawing too!

Address: 408, Taiwan, Taichung City, Nantun District, 春安路56巷25號

Huashan 1914 Creative Park:

This uber-cool park is a creative space for artists in Taiwan. You can catch artistic street performances, a wide array of pop-up stores that totally reminded me of BGC’s Art Mart! There are also shops, cafes, restaurants, a theater house, and exhibits. I’ve noticed that this place is aesthetically pleasing there are decors that can spice up your IG with hip and artsy photos.

Address: No. 1, Section 1, Bade Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100

I Celebrated New Year’s in Hong Kong

With the increasingly violent protests happening in Hong Kong in the past months a lot of people would ask if it’s safe to travel there. I went to Hong Kong last December and I can say it was pretty safe despite the protests and tensions happening in the country.

Why, of all places I chose to travel to Hong Kong? Well, it was because my friends saw that Cathay Pacific had a huge sale at that time and the flight costs around Php 7k for a round trip flight so why not? Plus, it’s CATHAY PACIFIC, Hong Kong’s flag carrier! Normally, it would cost more than that even if it’s economy and we were twenty-something-year-olds who like anything free or cheap af so we decided to go for it. We were suppose to travel to Vietnam or Thailand but flights were around Php 20k plus for a round trip because of the holidays, so no thanks!

Also, our friend T. is there. If you’ve read my past Hong Kong travel posts he’s the one who toured us around Hong Kong.

Before our flight, my friend told me to not wear anything black because that’s what the protesters wear and T. told us not to worry since the protests are always announced on T.V and just in case I would also check Twitter about updates on Hong Kong’s protest.

When we arrived at the airport, you would think everything is in chaos because of what you see in the news but everything was perfectly normal, business as usual.

We were taking selfies and my friend also saw Donnalyn Bartolome passed by. He immediately checked on social media since he wanted to find out why she was there (She has a crush on her) and found out that she just went back from Macau or something. *lol

From the Airport, we took an MTR going to Tin Hau since our hotel is only a 5 minute walk coming from Tin Hau station. While walking amongst the Hong Kong crowd in the station, everything was perfectly fine and in order. People were minding their own business and doing their own thing. Our hotel was located in Causeway Bay where the protests would usually take place but when we went there the streets were less crowded and quiet.

We had dinner at this awesome place near our hotel.

Taking a quick Night stroll

A protest graffiti in Mong Kok

But just because it’s safe you still need to exercise caution especially when you unexpectedly encounter a demonstration like we did. While walking around Hong Kong, I would see police roaming around in groups especially in districts where the protests would usually take place such as Central, Tsim Sha Tsui or Admiralty. Apparently even though T. was with us he didn’t have a clue that there would be a protest happening. When we just got off Victoria Harbor and made our way to Central we didn’t know that there were protesters around until we heard faint chants below the bridge we were crossing, we saw riot police patrolling around too so T. had to immediately tell us to go the other way to avoid bumping into the crowd of protesters. We also noticed people who were walking beside us were wearing black masks and had an all black outift. We immediately made our way to the MTR so we can go back to our hotel. Interesting experience yet alarming at the same time.

One thing I also noticed is that tourist sights in Hong Kong weren’t as crowded as before. At Peak Tram, I remembered back in 2016 the lines here would be so long it would take an hour or more just to get to the tram not to mention there would be other people cutting us in line which adds to more frustration. I’ve also experienced standing on the tram on the way back down from Victoria Peak because there weren’t any seats available. I could still remember the vivid image of where I was almost gripping to the edge of the seat’s handle for my life so I won’t end up slipping and tumbling down the door of the Peak Tram as it made its way down, thankfully that did not happen. Now you can ride it in a breeze, there were less crowds in Victoria Peak, no people stopping for selfies and bumping into huge crowds.

Especially at Hong Kong Ocean Park, normally this place would be filled with people! There would be long lines on each attractions, especially in the Penguin and Seal encounter area but now you can watch them in peace, especially the Grand Aquarium. My friend even told me he even scared himself when he saw a mirror and thought someone was standing there but it was only him with a camera since he was busy vlogging and was the only one touring the Jelly Fish Aquarium. If you’ve ever been there that place is dark. He just visited this place back in May so yeah he got really surprised finding out there’s little or no one around.

Got the Train to ourselves. loljk

We easily scored a seat at the Royal Banquet Hall. 😭Very unbelievable!

At Hong Kong Disneyland, the Sunny Bay station would be flocked with tourists and their children running around. You couldn’t even score a seat in the train heading towards Disneyland but we now got it all to ourselves. The lines in Disneyland were long but at least waiting time is mostly at 3-5 minutes, the longest would be at around 10 minutes. The last time I went here, the waiting time would be at around 30 minutes or more so we didn’t have the chance to ride or see the other attractions. Now it’s just gotten easier. There were a lot of people when we went there but not as much before.

When I found out what’s happening to Hong Kong months back I got really down. Hong Kong always has a special place in my heart because it’s the first country I’ve travelled to, when people would mention Hong Kong I’d always remember the amazing view of the skyline along Victoria Harbour with its glimmering city lights reflecting on the ocean, Hong Kong’s colorful buildings, historical sights, the lively crowds and not to mention the food that I can’t always finish because their servings are huuuuuge! There’s always amazing things to experience in Hong Kong every time I visit and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything!

Exploring Taichung, Taiwan (2018): Feng Chia Night Market + Taiwan Travel Tips

According to Taichung Travel Net, Taichung has been praised as the best city to live in several times for its pleasant weather.

IMO another factor is also the free bus rides when your travels are not farther than 10km, their delicacies that are delicious yet oh so, so cheap! Basically, it was a bang for the buck when I visited here. I bought Korean branded products at Feng Chia Night Market for a cheap price as well as clothes. It’s a haven for foodies and shoppers especially if you’re on a budget.

We got to Taichung by car but you can commute via Taxi, Train or Bus if you’re coming from the Airport. For more information you can check it out here and here.

Currency exchange in Taiwan

It’s best if you exchange currencies in your Country or at Taoyuan International Airport. NEVER exchange once you’re in the city because you’ll literally have a difficult time looking for a currency exchange service and the only option you have especially if it’s Philippine Peso is the Bank of Taiwan (in our experience) as most banks will only accept US Dollars or Japanese Yen.

I remember back in December we literally visited several banks near Ximending to exchange our currency and we only ended up in the Bank of Taiwan so save yourself the hassle and exchange at the Airport.

Wi-Fi Rental

We bought a sim card for us to use the internet in Taiwan. There are a lot of Telecom shops in Taiwan so you can pretty much choose any brand. What I used was Far Eastone Telecommunications since my friend’s brother recommended it. We didn’t need to get it from the Airport we just went to one of their stores in Taipei. I still could use it on this trip, I bought it last December 2017 and the sim expiry is 6 months, if i recall. Remember to bring two ID’s with you when getting a sim card.

I mostly used it for Google Maps and the connection was pretty decent but it gets a little slow sometimes. The downside of this is FarEast’s 4G LTE package only offers 3-5 day plans whereas other providers offer 7 days. Which I just found out. We decided to get the 5 day plan for our Taichung trip even though we were staying in Taiwan for 7 days.

The Hotel

We stayed at TwinStar Hotel because it’s conveniently located near the Taichung Railway Station, a mall and there were convenience stores nearby. It was the perfect location, all you need is just a five minute walk away.

This is probably one of the best hotels I’ve stayed and got the best value for my money. Our room had four beds (We don’t even know why) even though we booked a twin room and we were only two. I mean I knew the Taiwanese were generous but this was such an unexpected blessing. Anyway, more space for our excess stuff! Oh, we also had two Televisions lol.

The bathroom looked luxurious and big, buffet and services of the hotel was the best as well. The staffs never forget to bow when you arrive or leave, it makes you feel like royalty. lol We felt like we booked a Five star hotel or something.

Their buffet offered typical Chinese food: Egg Soup, Chop Suey, Pork floss, Steamed Buns, etc.. During my stay there the breakfast menu never changed. They always serve the same thing so if you’re staying here for more than a week and not a fan of eating the same thing everyday you can just drop by the supermarket beside the hotel or the convenience store for a change. 

This mall was beside Twin Star hotel. So convenient!

Feng Chia Night Market

I noticed that Taiwan Night Markets basically sells the same kind of food. The Rice Noodle, Squid, Mushroom at Ximending is also offered at Shi lin as well and you can also find it at Feng Chia Night Market. The difference only is that, the night markets in the province offer much cheaper prices compared to the main city. I got to buy a lot of stuff at Feng Chia Night Market compared to Ximending and Shilin. I pretty much went crazy buying a lot of makeup and clothes here because it was dirt cheap!

The guys who were handling this food stall could speak Fukien which was so helpful for us because we’re mostly used to speaking that language rather than Mandarin. I felt so at home.

We ate here because it reminds me so much of my favorite Taiwanese restaurant in San Juan.

How did we commute around Taichung:

We got around Taichung because my friend’s relative had a car. Though it is typically easy to commute here, it’s the same as Taipei. The difference is that there are no English translations of the places you’re going to especially when you’re in the bus. We used Google maps here but it goes really kooky sometimes because of the Wi-Fi. I recommend you guys downloading the app: Bus+ : Taiwan Bus Tracking.

It’s kind of helpful since you’ll know which bus are you gonna ride and if it’s arriving soon. I know Google Maps also has a bus number when you use it but I mostly find the Bus+ helpful because you know when you press the back button on your phone to see the map or check other available routes, Google would then Change your Bus Number, the roads you’re gonna take etc., and that’s a frickin hassle when we were in Taiwan so luckily i came across this app. There’s more information about the Buses you’re taking and you’ll track the bus in real-time.

You can check out the app here:

Bus+ : Taiwan Bus Tracking (Android)

Bus+ : Taiwan Bus Tracking (Apple)

Have you guys visited Taichung yet? Comment down below your experience! 😀

Taiwan Travel Diary (December 2017) Day 4: Mao Kong/ Buffet at Rainbow Hotel

Visiting Mao Kong was like the cherry on top for our Taiwan trip. You get to ride a Gondola heading towards the top of the Mountain. It reminds me of the Victoria Peak in Hong Kong.

Mao Kong is a quaint village located at the top of the Mountain, its spectacular view is perfect for drinking locally made tea which the place is widely known for.

I had to let someone take a photo of it because I literally didn’t want to look down.

You take a Gondola heading towards Mao Kong and there are two options Regular Cabins or the Crystal Cabins. The difference between the two is that the Crystal Cabin offers a 48mm thick glass sheet that could accommodate a maximum capacity of 5 passengers. The description itself brings a shiver down my spine. We ended up choosing the Crystal Cabin but I was super against it because the floor was transparent and I have a fear of heights but I had no choice.

As you ascend you get to admire a beautiful view of Taipei and you can spot the Taipei 101 tower too!

It was super cold once we got to the top, weirdly my phone connected to a Japanese wi-fi and I ended up on Google Japan while I was using it which was super outrageous since I’m in Taiwan. Coming from a tropical country, I was definitely not used to the cold. We were freezing and couldn’t take a proper photo so we had to buy those gloves that looked like they were for Motorcycles or something. Our breaths got foggy there too, amaze balls!

A photo of me freezing..also look at my sick gloves! :p

Since we got there at around lunch time we checked the area nearby where there was a place full of food stalls. There was one stall selling ice cream. This was outrageous for me well I guess since most people here are used to the cold they eat ice cream like a boss. Anyway, We ended up having noodles, the one that was similar to Ximending. After that we decided to explore the area more, we noticed that there was a mountain trail and they had a sign on where the trail starts but I didn’t take a photo of it since I know that we’re aren’t going to finish it anyway.

As you walk through Mao Kong village I was surprised by the endless array of Tea shops you could try. I wanted to visit one but most of it was wayyy expensive so we just walked around while enjoying the fresh air.

The Tianen Temple

You can find The Taipei Tea Promotion Center, this is a very interesting place to visit especially if you love Tea…like me! You can learn more about Tea production process here and they also offer free Tea. Though since we just learned about the building while we were there we decided to visit it next time. And that goes for the Taipei Zoo since we spent so much time walking around that it was already late so we decided to visit it next time with our friends maybe.

Beautiful views you’ll encounter while hiking Mao Kong

View while descending from Mao Kong

After MaoKong we then had dinner at Rainbow Hotel and this time we tried a buffet since it’s our last day. This was recommended by J.

We weren’t suppose to try it since it was a little expensive but we gave in because hey, it’s our last day in Taiwan. The menu isn’t limited to meat and seafood you can also have Häagen-Dazs Ice cream, cakes, fruits, also coffee and tea. Not bad.

Sexy meat being grilled…sorry I got hungry from blogging this

That’s it for our Taiwan 2017 Trip! I had a really fun time in Taiwan, I fell in love with the exciting night markets and the never-ending food adventures. I went back here on May 2018 stay tuned for more Taiwan posts! I’ll be ending this with Hello Kitty from Eva Air’s cute Sanrio lounge!

Can you spot Gudetama? The horrifyingly weirdly cute and lazy egg. lol

Taiwan Travel Diary (December 2017) Day 3: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall/ Taipei Botanical Garden/ HuaShan 1914 Creative Park

Usually, we spend our mornings walking around Ximending since our hostel is near there. The Ximending area is really the best place to book a hostel/hotel if you’re planning to stay in Taipei as you get to easily commute to major tourist destinations. 

Since we were going to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial our friend suggested we check out The Taipei Botanical Garden as well since we’re passing by there anyway. Have a green thumb? Then you can get your garden fix at this place.

The Botanical Garden dates back to the year 1921, it served as a research center for plants during the Japanese colonial period. It was left deserted during World War 2 but is now under the management of Taiwan Forestry Research Institute. The place is home to more than 1,500 different species of plants, as you walk through the garden there will be different themes in each area. The most popular is the Lotus Pond Garden, the main highlight of the place. The best season to come here would be during the summer as visitors would come in the to see the Lotus flowers bloom. 

Strolling around here is so peaceful and you get to admire mother nature’s work of art. 

We got to find this cute grumpy fat kitty roaming around ❤

The garden is next to the National History Museum, Science Museum and Art Museum which I will blog about in the future. Visiting Art museums is a must for me! 

Next stop is the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, a very popular and iconic landmark in Taipei and one of the most visited tourist attractions. 

There’s also the Chiang Kai-shek Exhibition Hall wherein the changing of guards takes place, which we didn’t get to see because we just mainly took a lot of photos here. The Exhibition Hall chronicles the life of Chiang Kai-Shek. I’ll be planning to come back here again because the history buff in me is very curious. 

When we got there the CKS Memorial Hall was under construction.

The National Concert Hall~ 

Of course photo op infront of the National Theater! 

The National Theater and National Concert Hall has very similar structures. It is constructed in a traditional Chinese palace style, both having similar yellow tiled roofs and red pillars. These landmarks host a lot of local and international events such as dance and theater performances. 

The Main Entrance~ I just love the details of this Archway. ❤

Don’t miss visiting this site especially if you’re into history. Don’t be like me that missed the changing of the guards and seeing the Exhibition Hall. 😭

Last stop was the Huashan 1914 Creative Park. I found out about this place thru Tricia Gosingtian’s blog. 

This creative park is actually pretty unique, it features Art Exhibits, local art shops, product design stores basically anything that speaks Art & Design. Art junkies would love to visit here, this is where I bought my friend’s Gold Watercolor Palette! 

This place gave me a rush of intense nostalgia, I felt like I went back to college. The days where I would go to Art museums a lot and my living room would be a mess because of the art materials scattered around me while I was painting.

Me obviously tired from the trip~ 

I wanna take one home so bad

This looked so artsy I had to take a photo! 

I was also lucky to spot the Yuri on Ice Exhibit!!!! I was literally fangirling when I saw it! I had that YoI fever back then, the exhibit had an entrance fee that was a little pricey but I didn’t care! I was like “TAKE MY MONEY, BISHHHH”. There were certain areas that we couldn’t take a photo of in the exhibit but my fangirl heart was satisfied to have a fake group photo with them. 😝

Don’t judge me. 😂 

Frankly, I think Yuuri Katsuki was modelled after Yuzuru Hanyu and I’ve always wondered why Phichit Chulanont who was speculated to have been modelled after Michael Christian Martinez wasn’t made into a Filipino character. No hate though, I love Phichit but whatever. I was so happy to have come across this!

I never thought that there would be an exhibit like this though but yeah don’t forget to check Facebook or Google to see if there’s an upcoming exhibit/event that’ll be happening on the dates of your travel to make your visit worthwhile. I also happen to come across a Marvel exhibit on my May 2018 Travel to Taiwan so little tip on that. 😉

Hope you enjoyed my post, especially if you’re a YoI fan! 💖

Taiwan Travel Diary (December 2017) Day 2: Yehliu Geopark & Shi Lin Night Market

If you’re a nature lover, Yehliu Geopark is a must-visit! It’s located at the Wanli District of New Taipei. We took a bus from our hostel to Yehliu Geopark, we reached the place in an hour and a half. Before reaching the entrance you’ll be greeted with Taiwan’s majestic ocean and you’ll also be surprised at the endless seafood restaurants in every corner! I’d definitely go back here and try some of their seafood dishes.

We ate at one of the restaurants near Yehliu Geopark. We got a free big bowl of soup here just because the owner said they had excess soup of it so they gave it to us. The Taiwanese are really generous with their serving and are very kind.

Yehliu Geopark is famous for its eroded rock formations and also a very popular tourist spot in Taiwan. It was jam packed when we got there and I can see why as I have fallen in love with the place, It’s pretty magnificent. Did you know that this was previously covered by an ocean? I first saw this tourist spot on KBS’ Battle Trip where Shindong and Kim Senyeong were the contestants for the Taiwan vacation, they showed a different side of Taiwan that I never knew and after that I badly wanted to visit the country. I also got to watch Bolin Chen’s vlogs about Taiwan and it made me want to go even more!

It was a little rainy when we visited here so it got difficult to take some photos. The best time to visit this place is around September – November where the weather is pleasant, not too hot and not too cold. I’d avoid visiting here in the Summer as my co-worker went here during that time and he didn’t enjoy it because it was so hot and humid that he wanted to just get back on the bus.

We planned to go to Jiufen but due to the rain we had second thoughts about it but in the end we took a taxi going there since we couldn’t fit in our relatives’ car. Take note, it’s expensive going to Jiufen by taxi if you’re coming from Yehliu Geopark it will cost NT 1200 but since we had no choice we had to take one. I didn’t put Jiufen on my blog title because well…we didn’t last long as there were many tourists and it was raining so it was pretty much a hassle. We also had a hard time looking for the Ah Mei Teahouse, fret not though I’ll be posting about Jiufen in my future blog posts.

Once we arrived at Jiufen, we were greeted with this view. Look at that fog!

We were so obsessed with this! These are Taiwanese Tea Eggs and can be bought at 7-eleven and are perfect snacks for the the cold!

So cute!

There are a lot of Dogs guarding the stores in Jiufen, partly because it attracts customers.

Next up is Shilin Night Market, we got there at 9:30 pm and met up with our Taiwanese friend, J. He was able to help us tour around as he lives in Taipei and knows the place inside out. A good tip if you’re travelling is you have to know someone in the country you’re planning to travel. 😉

So I also knew how to go to Shilin Night Market because of Bolin’s vlog. LOLOL.

If you’re coming from Ximenting, from Ximen Station take the Bannan Line heading towards Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Station then head towards the Taipei Main Station. From there, take the Tamsui-Xinyi Line towards Beitou Station then alight at Jiantan Station.

Keep in mind that Taipei has a train station that says “Shilin Station” do not go down there as it’s the back part. 

Once you exit Jiantan Station, go to Exit 1 then diagonally cross the street to the left and you’ll be greeted by the entrance to the night market.

This big giant ball thing surprised us!

There are a lot of foods to try out at Shilin Night Market. The famous delicacy that can be found here is the Prince Cheese Potato, Interestingly they also have Oyster Vermicelli & Hot Star Fried Chicken which Ximending also has. I do recommend trying these food out and your tastebuds are gonna have  the time of their life!

I see these things everywhere in Taiwan!

I usually binge watch Bolin Chen’s vlog and I saw this delicacy! This is similar to a fishball on a stick but once eaten you can taste that rich milky texture! Surprisingly, it’s not that sweet which is good.

Strawberry Hard Candy

They look so picture perfect but is too sweet, definitely not for me. If you have a sweet tooth though you can try it out. 

Story time: So I couldn’t find a trash can after eating this and while we were walking around this lady offered to take the stick from me just to throw it away. They’re so nice! 

There’s a lot of things to see and do at Shilin Night Market especially if you’re a foodie! Do check it out if you’re travelling to Taipei! 🙂 

 

Taiwan Day 1: Taipei 101 / Modern Toilet / Ximending Night Market

Ni hao, guys! I recently went to Taipei, Taiwan because it’s visa-free until July and I really hope my post will encourage you to visit this wonderful country because I really had fun when I was here and I can say for sure that I didn’t want to go home!

We booked our flight with Eva Air, you’ll surely know of it since their adverts are everywhere here in the metro.

Our flight was at 12 PM and we checked in at around 10 AM, boarding was around 12:30 and our flight became 1 PM. It was delayed due to air-traffic congestion.

Eva Air is well known for their cute Sanrio aircrafts so they sell Sanrio products at their Skyshop. I wanna book one of their Hello Kitty flights someday! 

Their in-flight meal was yummy, they served Curry Chicken and Cheese cake on the side. The other side dish, I don’t know what it’s called. 

 

We finally arrived at Taoyuan International Airport, Terminal 2. Their airport looked nice but not as grand as I thought it’d be. I found out that Terminal 2 is the old airport.

If you’re commuting from the airport to Taipei you can go take the Airport MRT, bus or a Taxi (though it is quite expensive, it’ll cost you around 1000+ NT).

We got to our hostel at around 6:00 PM because we got lost going to Taipei, My friend isn’t familiar with the streets of Taipei as he works in Taichung so we just used Google Maps and also the internet wouldn’t cooperate. Our itinerary was ruined because of it, our original itinerary was:

Saturday > Airport (3:30/4:00)> Hotel (4:30-5:00) > Taipei 101 (5:15-7:30) > Elephant Mountain (8:30-10:00) >Rao he (10:30-12:00)

But with the situation we just had to go with Taipei 101, Ximending Night Market and Modern Toilet Restaurant that’s just near Ximending.

Stopped by our hostel in Ximending to leave our bags, I took some photos with a film app as I really love experimenting with film apps recently.

We took a taxi to Taipei 101 and boy the weather was reaall colddd. It was around 16 °C and I am definitely not used to cold weather. Before going to Taiwan, D. warned us that the weather would be cold but I just shrug it off as I expected the temperature to be, I guess the same as Baguio. lol I regret that decision. Wag tularan. Bring winter jackets.

The price for Taipei 101’s Observatory is 600 NT but there’s a discount when you bring your passport with you.

This place reminds me of The Shoppes at Marina Bay, I thought I was transported back there! Deja Vu!

I love the interior of this place, it’s so colorful and pretty!

This huge mass damper keeps Taipei 101 from swaying during Earthquakes

I don’t have much photos of Taipei 101’s Observatory as the weather wasn’t really good and really foggy so you can’t see anything up there and I was quite disappointed. It’s better to visit in the summer or when it’s not cloudy/foggy.

Next stop was the infamous Modern Toilet Restaurant. It’s such a cute restaurant but it’s kinda overpriced. I avoided ordering on what literally looks like fecal or urine (hehe! I have an overreactive imagination) as I might not eat it, I’ve watch one Youtube channel where the vlogger ordered a sandwich that was designed to literally look like Poo.

Last on the Itinerary for Day 1 was Ximending Night Market!

We’re so glad that our hostel is near Ximending, this place is so vibrant at night, there are so many food stalls and cosmetics shops such as The Face Shop, Innisfree, Etude House and Sasa. The place is very similar to Shibuya and South Korea even though I haven’t been there yet, if you watch K-drama’s and Anime’s you’ll get what I mean.

This is where our Day 1 ends. Have you been to Taiwan yet? Would love to know! Share in the comments below! 😀

Hong Kong Travel Diary 2016: Day 2

Here is the view from our hotel!~

The next day we had breakfast at Cafe de Coral. It was just a few blocks away from our hostel and it was introduced to us by T. of course. The food here serves a lot of set meals. It’s very cheap and comes with drinks. Since we don’t speak Cantonese T. told us to order our food by number and the rest will follow. This was our go-to food joint at Hong Kong and their menu changes from time to time as well.

My friend’s order

My OOTD for Hong Kong Disneyland.

After eating we immediately took the MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui to Lai King where there were crowds who are also going to Disneyland so if you feel lost. Just follow them~ After Lai King we rode an MTR to Sunny bay where the train was so cute as it had a Mickey Mouse shaped window on it.

The train was adorned with statues of disney characters.

We bought the tickets infront of Disneyland Park which costs a whopping HK$539.

The infamous entrance of HK Disneyland. Never thought that i’d see it in person! 

When we went in we first had to explore the shops around Main Street Station and I got super excited because I felt like we were in an actual cartoon setting. The weather was cloudy and it rained later in the day but at least the rides weren’t cancelled because of the weather. There was a lot of walking to do here as well so better get comfortable shoes ready if you’re visiting here.

T. was our tourist guide again since he got to go here several times already. He kept bugging us to try the RC Racer. It was the first attraction we tried and it’s like Vikings in Enchanted Kingdom but only more scarier and intense. lol Vikings had a subtle drop when you go back and forth, but this one has a big drop when it goes back and forth!

I promised myself that I’am not going to ride this ever again! I almost had a heart attack riding it! My adrenaline rush was intense and I was still shaking after the ride! It’s fun (for the guys i’m with) but not for the faint of heart.

The RC Racer looks like a harmless ride from afar.

Howdy Partner~

I wanted to take a photo with Lots-O at the Barrel of Fun but it was already closed. 

After the death defying ride we went to Ye Olde Fantasyland Theatre at Fantasyland where it’s showing Mickey’s Philharmagic. I really loved the look and feel of the place. It felt like we were in a small village in the medieval times. The displays feel like we were in the 18th century.

The line was so long though, as expected in a theme park but this is my favorite attraction of all! This place is a 4D Film attraction where you’ll experience what Donald duck sees through scent, wind, bubbles and more! The movie starts with Donald Duck getting frenzied by Mickey’s orchestra from the movie Fantasia. He bounces from a different disney character dimension to another as he chases Mickey’s sorcerer hat, there you’ll experience and feel what he sees. At the end Mickey pops up and saves the day! While Donald gets stuck into the theatre’s back wall which was very funny!

 

It’s the wizard from Enchanted Kingdom! Watchu’ doin here? kidding!

T. then led us to Mickey and the Wondrous Book. He led us into a theatre where people were also coming in and starting to fill the seats. The attraction was a musical and the most unique part of it was the screen where Mickey, Goofy and Olaf would occasionally pop out. The story is about a magical book where Mickey and Goofy were so amazed. Olaf pops out and can’t return to the book so Mickey goes on an adventure in the book to ensure Olaf safely returns. Each page brings a fantastic musical number and my favorite was Merida and Rapunzel’s story! The whole story is in Cantonese but there’s a translation in LED lights which I didn’t bother to read as it was so fast. I just enjoyed the music and the presentation.

Tiana!

Still in Fantasyland, we went to try the “It’s a small world” ride where you’ll be greeted with children singing “It’s a small world after all” in Cantonese. I kinda admit the dolls freaked me out.

After that, we had lunch at the Royal Banquet Hall adjacent to Mickey’s Philharmagic. The Royal Banquet Hall features statues of different Disney princesses and their stories. The place also serves a mix of asian and western cuisine. The interior was pretty fantastic as it looks like you’re in the dining hall of a european castle.

The food was expensive and it tasted pretty bland. The saddest thing is I didn’t finish mine and it’s the first time in a long time for me not to finish one! It was a total waste, good thing my friends ate some of it. I guess I was still jet-lagged.

We chose the Vegetable Tempura Udon (HK $65) he was suppose to order a different one but due to language barriers he got the same as mine.

After lunch T. led us to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, which was pretty fun! Your goal is to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg by firing lasers as you control the cannon and score points! Use the joystick to spin your ride and target the “Z” signs with your lasers. You can compete with your friends who are in another cannon or with your partner!

While we were going to Adventure land we were greeted with the Flights of Fantasy parade!~

We then went to Adventure land where it had a jungle theme with all the tikis and spears.

T. told us that we should visit Tarzan’s treehouse which we’ll reach by riding a raft because we had to cross a river.

It’s an elephant!

Tarzan’s treehouse is very creative everything looks so real but when you get a feel of the trees or plants it’s artificial. Did you see how real the Elephants look?! Kudos to the people who built this. We climbed Tarzan’s treehouse and in each scene you can relive the life of Tarzan from when he was almost attacked by a leopard as a baby to how she met Jane Porter. It’s amazing how I felt like I was in the story itself while escalating through the scenes. The displays were very interesting to look at especially Professor Porter’s equipments and how Tarzan lived a life there. You can get a great view of the whole Adventure Land from the top where it’s an insta-worthy post!

After this we had to hurry and line up for the Festival of the Lion King where the line was painfully long and we had to wait for 30 minutes. Honestly, i’m not complaining because i’m really patient with long lines and I’m in one of the happiest places on earth!

This guy kept smiling at my camera but he was so quick at turning around that I couldn’t get a good shot of him. 

The musical relives the story of Simba, Nala and Scar. They performed Hakuna Matata, I Just Can’t Wait To Be King, Can You Feel The Love Tonight and other well known songs through dancers which are well versed in animal choreography. There’s also a fire dance, special effects and an aerial performance which looked so magical!

After watching the spectacular performance we decided to buy souvenirs since we were a little near Main Street.

Every merchandise was so cute! But nothing caught my attention because most of the products are targeted for kids. I was even second thinking if I should buy the Minnie Mouse ears which everyone was wearing. I was asking my friend several times if it’s worth buying it since everything was so expensive here. We went back to the souvenir shop several times because I was still deciding if I should buy it, In the end I bought and T. even told me that it took me so long to decide.

We then went to Hyperspace mountain which had a long line once again. My legs were aching from all the walking and I almost thought I was gonna give in. We got a ride in less than 20 minutes. The lines here are super long but it’s bearable since it moves fast. The ride was super fun. If you’re looking for thrilling rides you guys should try this! It totally woke me up and forgot about my aching legs.

We hurried off to sit on a sidewalk at Main Street for the Paint the Night Parade. It was one of the magical nights ever! I loved the parade and I would go back for this!

We then hurriedly went infront of Sleeping Beauy’s castle to watch the fireworks a perfect thing to finish the tour. The fireworks were amazing and magical.

We had dinner at a traditional Hong Kong cuisine located in Mong Kok street. We still walked all the way to the MTR. Good gawd, I’am going to lose weight if I live here. It seems it’s a ‘thing’ to walk here. T. said people don’t own cars here as parking is very expensive so some prefer to commute.

We ordered was around HK$25 and it comes with iced tea

This is much cheaper and so delicious than what we ate at Disneyland HK!

Eat Together is situated near the night market so went to buy souvenirs for our friends and family. The streets at Mong Kok reminded me of Binondo and Divisioria malls like 168 or 999 only they’re more cleaner and organized. We then headed home and capped off the night. It was tiring but worth it.

Have you been to Disneyland HK or the night market in the streets of HK? Feel free to leave a comment below~