Visiting Taiwan THREAD II

[pinkpotato]

You can take the TRA train to Ruefang station and transfer to the Pingxi line Here's a good blog post about it:

http://kampungboycitygal.com/2009/08/taiwan-best-trip-riding-the-pingxi-branch-rail-line/

thanks sis. i want to see the skylantern.

[a_recruitment]

sharing my itinerary to Taiwan last November. hope this would help 

arrived via 5J at around 00:30, meron pang bus going to Taipei Main Station (Citi Air or Kuo Kang). We were booked in STAR hostel (super lapit lang sa Zongshan station & around 10mins walk to TMS). I would recommend STAR hostel (very homey yung place, clean & mabait ang staff though ang downside lang is wala silang elevator-- up to 5th floor pa naman sila).

Day 1: (RED Line- Taipei Metro)
Confucius Temple & Baoan Temple
Beitou (library, museum, hot spring)
Danshui
Shilin night market- sarap mag-food trip (milk teas, hot star chicken, oyster omelette, etc.)

Day 2:
Yehliu Geopark
Jiufen (madami ding cute items na pwede mabili dito)
Ximending (modern toilet, shops)-- love ko din ang Ximending daming nice clothes and shoes/ boots!

Day 3: (BLUE line- Taipei Metro)
CKS Memorial
Hello Kitty Sweets
Sun Yat Sen Memorial
Taipei 101

Day 4:
Grand Hotel
National Taiwan University
Longshan
Ximending (again! hehe)

For pasalubongs: pineapple cake, mochi. mahal mga souvenirs like key chains, ref magnets, shirts)

[mika]

ill be in taipei this coming feb 16. my bf wants to watch the lantern festival in lugang. is it worth going there?

also, whats the best way to go to sun moon lake coming from the airport?

[wuvshoe]

^^^^Hi sky_butterfly17, maraming Nike stores in Taipei... medyo common siya dito and they have outlet stores rin. For the location, go to any shopping district (Xinyi, Zhongxiao, Ximending, etc.) or night market.
Yup, malamig pa during that time! Have fun!

^Hi sis mika, I've been to Lugang but not for the Lantern festival. I don't know if it's worth going there for that. But I found the place very cute... na-preserve kasi nila yung old style architechture. Ang layo lang talaga from Taipei.
To get to Sun Moon Lake from the airport:
1. Take shuttle bus to HSR (bullet train).
2. Take HSR to Taichung station.
3. In Taichung station, ride a bus going to the lake.
Hope this helps!

[mika]

^ wow! thanks for the help =) will think twice about visiting lugang then...

[wuvshoe]

^you're welcome, sis. Sun Moon Lake is beautiful - enjoy your trip!!

[yuuko]

Hello.Where can I buy prepaid sim aside from the kiosk at Taoyuan airport? I will be arriving after midnight 12:40a.m. on Cebu Pacific and the stalls selling them will be closed already.

[wuvshoe]

^hi sis, yung sa airport lang talaga yung convenient and for tourists/short-term users. outside of the airport, they don't issue prepaid SIM cards without a resident ID na.

I think what you can do is buy one of those OFW sim cards while in Manila (the SMART one is endorsed by Ai-Ai)... then before going to Taiwan, have the roaming featured turned on. Here in Taiwan, you can also get the OFW sim card in Filipino stores along Zhonshan N. Rd. (EEC, Bingo, etc.)

[tulips28]

hi! im planning to visit taiwan by march 15-19 or march 22-26.. Actually, ang habol ko sa taiwan is the flower festival, especially to see cherry blossoms so, do please someone naman tell me if by these times (dates mentioned), may cherry blossoms na ba and where? I need some confirmations first before I book our tickets, TIA! and also, what is the weather ba by march?

cheers!

[wuvshoe]

^Hi sis, are you talking about the Yangminshan flower festival? That one starts on February 17 and lasts until March 18 this year. So it's better if you book earlier than those dates Medyo cool pa ang weather during March, like 16~23c. Hope this helps!

[esor]

I was in Taipei last March 11-15, 2011
yung weather sa gabi lang malamig, pero tolerable naman, though madami pa din sa kanila ang todo jacket talaga, I just wear cardigans during my stay there and nakapag shorts pa ko nung time na yun.
about naman sa cherry blossoms, wala kaming nakita, siguro wala lang talaga sa part na mga napuntahan namin ^^

I miss Taiwan ^^
hayyyy nandyan ang Super Junior for 4 days concert (SS4 Taiwan)
last year yan ang isang reason kung bakit ako nagpunta ng Taipei ^^ (super fangirling)

[wuvshoe]

^isa na ako dun sa mga todo jacket... nag-12c nga dito nung isang araw, awang-awa ako sa sarili ko huhu sana summer na ulit!
Exclusive ba yung SuJu concert? Hindi ko nakita sa http://www.ticket.com.tw - sayang!

[sky_butterfly17]

ok ba sa taipei zoo? may option kasi kami na mag join or not. ang shilin night market what time nag oopen mga store?

[wuvshoe]

^ok naman siya... for me it's a straightforward zoo, nothing fancy. maliit lang siya and kayang-kayang lakarin kung may extra day kayo, why not...

I haven't been to Shilin night market since they changed its location... but usually, bukas na the nightmarkets at 5pm all the way to 1am

[esor]

yikes nag -12 na pala dyan sa Taiwan, last year nung nagpunta kami dyan 13degree celsius lang yung pinaka malamig ^^, March na kasi nun.
sis wuvshoe yung sa Super Junior ticket nung ni release dyan 17 minutes pa lang SOLD OUT na, Taiwanese fans really loves Super Junior, kaiingit nga kasi 4 days sila dyan, samantalang dito sa Pinas di sila mag coconcert hayyyyy talaga.

[yuuko]

Thanks, sis Wuvshoe for info. How is the weather now?

[sky_butterfly17]

thanks sis wuvshoe. ask ko na din san exact location ng Ikea? and may mga tiangge ba na open pag morning?

[wuvshoe]

^^^Sis, I meant 12 degrees... hehe. Nilalamig kasi ako pag less than 20c 
Grabe naman sold out pala agad yung tickets!

^^Today is warm and sunny but tomorrow will be cool again. You can check the next 7 days in this site:
http://www.tealit.com/article_categories.php?section=weather&article=forecast

^Here's the address of IKEA in Taipei:
B1F., No.100, Dunhua N. Rd., Songshan Dist., Taipei City
台北市松山區敦化北路100號B1
It's right in front of the Taipei Arena. You can take the MRT to Nanjing E Rd Station (brown line) and walk 15 minutes.

As far as I know, the night markets become palengkes in the morning and you can buy fruits, vegetables, meat, etc. The stalls close after lunch. The night markets start naman at 5~6pm.

You can try going to the underground malls in the Taipei Main Station - but they open quite late na rin, like 10~11am. And there's an old wholesale market in one of the exits of Taipei City Mall (I think exit Z17) where my friends buy their accessories/bags/stationery. They're open during the daytime and close around 6~7pm. This area is not known to tourists... nightmarket vendors buy their goods here.

[wuvshoe]

ill be in taipei this coming feb 16. my bf wants to watch the lantern festival in lugang. is it worth going there?

Hi sis, just found the following info about the lantern festival in Lugang:

"This year's main lantern festival activities will be held in Lukang. Should be fun to see the old streets lit with lanterns and decorations.

From Zhanghua train station there are free shuttle buses:

Weekdays: 2pm-8pm, last return bus 10.30pm
Weekends: 10am-8pm, last returning bus 10.30pm"

[sky_butterfly17]

thanks sis wuvshoe..we will be staying at fortune haiyatt hotel