It has been 3 months since the last trip. Actual plan was for a solo trip but someone managed to slip in, non other than my best bud - Hakimbo. At least we managed a proper hotel rather than a guest house if I'm traveling alone.
The best departure and cheapest flight is by Tiger Airways for about SGD600, a morning departure and a 4hours flight. Upon arrival at Taoyuan International Airport, the place was a bit run down. Parts of the airport were under construction so there wasn't much to shop. There was only 2 ways out of the airport, by bus or by taxi. Taxi would cost around SGD40 so we got on the Kuo-Kang bus service 1819 which is only SGD5. The journey from the airport to Taipei City is 45 mins to 1 hour depending on the traffic.
The last alighting station is at Taipei Main Station which a central for all transportation, be it bus or MRT. Our hotel is an MRT station away. With a luggage in tow, we took the MRT from Taipei Main Station to Ximending. Getting around was easy as the signs are in Chinese and English. Buying the token was even easier. A day pass is TWD350 (SGD 10) for unlimited rides but majority of the trips would cost as low as TWD20 to TWD55 (SGD 0.80 - 2.30). Hence getting a day pass is not worthwhile due to most places are within a few stations away.
The hotel Just Sleep is 5 minutes walk from the station. Something unique about the hotel is that the hotel is within an office building hence the room layout is different than other hotel. Average room cost within SGD120 to 220 during off-peak period. With my airline staff pass, I managed a lower rate.
The deluxe room is square spacious but the room facilities are just too awesome. The bathroom is totally cool too with the black tiled wall and a wide window overlooking the next door office building. Another cool feature is the magnetized door sign which you stick on the door outside. The bed is just a nice comfort for sleeping hence the hotel name.
The best departure and cheapest flight is by Tiger Airways for about SGD600, a morning departure and a 4hours flight. Upon arrival at Taoyuan International Airport, the place was a bit run down. Parts of the airport were under construction so there wasn't much to shop. There was only 2 ways out of the airport, by bus or by taxi. Taxi would cost around SGD40 so we got on the Kuo-Kang bus service 1819 which is only SGD5. The journey from the airport to Taipei City is 45 mins to 1 hour depending on the traffic.
The hotel Just Sleep is 5 minutes walk from the station. Something unique about the hotel is that the hotel is within an office building hence the room layout is different than other hotel. Average room cost within SGD120 to 220 during off-peak period. With my airline staff pass, I managed a lower rate.
The deluxe room is square spacious but the room facilities are just too awesome. The bathroom is totally cool too with the black tiled wall and a wide window overlooking the next door office building. Another cool feature is the magnetized door sign which you stick on the door outside. The bed is just a nice comfort for sleeping hence the hotel name.
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| A cool facility wall |
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| 2 Way Business |
The hotel is just across a trendy shopping district, Ximen. The whole area is packed with shops of trendy clothing, shoes, bags and novelties. Street foods are a bundle too but not as much as somewhere else. If you're hungry, it will still do. The first day was raining the whole day ever since arrival hence we bought an umbrella each to keep dry. Surprisingly, there are a couple of umbrella shops selling different sizes and grades of umbrella. We got ours at a convenient 7-11 store right underneath the hotel.Wan Nian is a shopping mall that I've bookmarked in my itinerary. It's not about the clothing stores on the first two floors but the toys and games stores from the third floor onwards. But most of the toys there were gunplas which are not within my liking. Games however are the same price as in Singapore so now purchase made.
The night was still young and we ventured out to Shihlin Night Market for some grubs. However upon arrival, we were not hungry so we wondered around the streets for the shops. Most of the item are similar to Ximen including ABC Mart. And with more time to kill, we had a massage in one of the few massage parlors around Shihlin.
So day 1 was wondering around shops and adding the shopping list. And of course a good night sleep.