Taipei

Day One

Took the red-eye Scoot flight TZ 202 scheduled to depart at 0055 hours. As this was a night flight, we did not order any meal. Instead it was the best time to catch a nap during the flight journey and I managed to doze off a few times. This flight reached Taoyuan Airport at about 5.30 am.

Shuttle Bus from Airport

Once cleared our customs and got our luggage, we went straight to the basement of the airport terminal to get our shuttle bus tickets to Taipei. Bought Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation (國光客運) tickets at TWD 125 per passenger from its counter. Bus Number 1819 was already waiting at its parking berth (left photo below) and without much waiting we boarded this coach bus (right photo below).
We then took a metro train to 'Ximen' station (西門站) once reached Taipei Main Station and found our way to Just Sleep hotel. As there was no room available in the morning, we then deposited our luggage at the hotel and began to search for our breakfast.

Breakfast Search

There are several famous breakfast eateries near 'Longshan Temple' station (龍山寺站), thus we decided to go there as it was just one station away from our hotel. After searching for about 15-mins we could not find any eateries, and only then we realized that it was Taiwan local election day during our visit on 29 Nov 2014. Most breakfast stores likely were closed due to this polling day. Also known as nine-in-one election (九合一選擧), people in Taiwan gets to elect their officials, including mayors and councillors, of nine different legislative bodies in 6 municipalities and 16 counties.

Breakfast in a Fast-Food Restaurant

Disappointed and hungry, we settled our breakfast in a fast-food restaurant (left photo below) where I ordered a 'Big Breakfast' at TWD 99 (right photo below). Taste was standard from this fast-food chain but the price was much lower compared to Singapore.
I then took metro straight to Taipei Zoo (動物園) station.

Taipei Zoo (臺北市立動物園)

Taipei Zoo, often referred by the locals as 'Muzha Zoo' (木柵動物園), it is one of the largest zoos in Asia with a total area of 165 hectares of more than 350 different animal species. Opening hours from 0900 to 1700 hours daily and do note its last entry at 1600 hours.

Zoo Entrance

It took me less than 3-mins to walk from the metro station to the zoo entrance (left photo below). Some queues were already formed at the ticket counters in the morning at about 10.30 am (right photo below), but I decided to tap my EasyCard (悠遊卡) to enter instead. Admission cost was TWD 60 which can consider as inexpensive for a zoo located in a capital city.

Giant Panda House

This was my first exhibition encountered as it is located near the entrance. The zoo received two pandas from the People's Republic of China in 2008, named as 'Tuan Tuan' and 'Yuan Yuan' which mean 'reunion' in Chinese. And in the year 2013, their offspring 'Yuan Zai' was born. I was fortunate to see their whole family during my visit (photos below).

African Animal Zone

This zone exhibits covers an area of 6-hectares for several large animals such as Hippopotamus (left photo below) and White Rhinoceros (right photo below), as well as endemic animals like Common Elands (bottom left photo) and Ring-tailed Lemurs (bottom right photo).

Temperate Zone Animal Area

Multiple temperate species across the two continents are display in this area, including Przewalski's horses (left photo below) and American bison (right photo below).

Formosan Animal Area

This area (left photo below) features animals indigenous to Taiwan, inclusive of the rare Formosan sika deer (right photo below). Formosan sika deer (台灣梅花鹿) is a subspecies of sika deer endemic to the island of Taiwan. Through conservation efforts, its population is estimated to exceed 1,000 individuals.

Lunch at the Zoo

After much walking in the zoo, I decided to have a light meal from this Hei Mien Tsai (黑面蔡) store located in Hippopotamus Square (left photo below). Ordered a 'Five-spiced Beef Noodles' (五香牛肉煮王子麵) at TWD 139 (right photo below). Rather surprised that its price was the same as those sold in the city; as I tend to have the impression that it would cost more in those touristy areas.

Education Centre

This centre is a showcase for animal conversation and education (photos below). Additional TWD 20 was required to enter this education centre.
One of the highlights in this centre is the specimen of an elephant named Lin Wang (林旺). Born in 1917, this bull elephant served with the Chinese Expeditionary Force during the second Sino-Japanese war in mainland China and was later relocated to Taiwan. It lived to a ripe age of 86 and thus earning the title of longest-living elephant in captivity. Lin Wang was immortalized in a life-size specimen in 2004 (left photo below).

When comes to conversation, this centre does provide a detailed explanation on the statues of some endangered animals (right photo below).
The diorama displays of Asian animals in their natural environment caught my attention (photos below). The skill of preserving the specimens had the same standard as those in most European museums.


Regretfully, the specimen preservation of Golden Monkeys (left photo below) and Giant Pandas (right photo below) which are endemic to China does not have the same level as other animals.


Besides Asian animals, there are also animals from other parts of the world (photos below).

Left the Taipei Zoo at about 3 pm after exploring for about 4.5-hours.

Maokong Gondola (貓空纜車)

The best transport to Maokong for visitors is to take the Maokong Gondola. First operated in July 2007, the Maokong Gondola is 4.3-km long consisting of four stations from Taipei Zoo station to Maokong station. Each regular cabin can hold a total of 8 passengers (photos below). During our visit, we paid TWD 50 per trip (for 4 stations) per person.


Scenery from Taipei Zoo to Maokong

View of Taipei 101 could be seen in the distance from the gondola cabin car (left photo below). The design of the Maokong station is rather contemporary with its cute signage of the station name (right photo below).

Scenery from Maokong to Taipei Zoo

While waiting for the gondola, were told by their staff that we could switch to another lane to board the crystal cabin. There was no price difference between the regular and crystal cabin; we paid the same price of TWD 50 for this return trip per person. The crystal cabin is nicknamed as 'eyes of Maokong Gondola' and the dense vegetation below the gondola could be clearly seen (left photo below). Despite its thick glass bottoms, each cabin can only board 5 passengers. Due to the shacky cabin during descending, I could only take a blurry photo of Taipei City night scenery (right photo below).

Maokong (貓空)

Maoking is an area located besides the Taipei Zoo that used to be the biggest tea growing area. But now it has become a popular tea culture and spot for viewing Taipei City night scenery.

Besides tea tasting, there are many street food stalls at Maokong (photos below). Typical Taiwanese snacks such as stinky tofu (臭豆腐), oyster omelette (蚵仔煎), fried chicken cutlet (炸雞排), shaved ice (刨冰) and even bubble tea (珍珠奶茶) were sold there. Visitors definitely are spoiled for choice.
Instead, we had our late afternoon tea at Kuang Ting Tea House (觀鼎休閒茶園) next to the cable car station (left photo below). This tea house offered good panorama views of the rolling hills and glimpses of the Taipei City, including the Maokong gondola station coated in golden sunshine from the evening sun (right photo below).
Ordered two mongo smoothies (left photo below) and shared a fruit waffle (right photo below) from this Tea House, which cost a total of TWD 270. Slightly pricey on the food, nevertheless it was a good resting place that had nice view.


After a good afternoon tea, we then took the gondola back to the zoo station and followed by metro back to 'Taipei City Hall' station.

Dinner at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi

Decided to have dinner in a food court located at the basement of Shin Kong Mitsikoshi (新光三越) of Xinyi Place. Got myself a curry udon noodles and a fried potato cake at TWD 149 (left photo below) from a Japanese noodle store (right photo below). Taste was good and authentic.
We then went back to the hotel at about 8 pm to check into our room. Watched the result analysis of the nine-in-one elections through the news channel. Had an early rest to recuperate from the red-eye flight and packed itineraries.


Day Two

After a satisfying breakfast, we checked out our room and deposited the luggage at the hotel.

Transport to Jiufen

Took local TRA train at TWD 49 from Taipei Main station to Ruifang station. After which took Bus Number 1062 from the bus stop at civic square outside the Ruifang train station (left photo below). The bus journey took about 15-minutes ride to Jiufen Old Street. Could not determine the exact cost of the bus ride as I used the EasyCard to pay.

For return trip, just need to board the same bus number from the bus stop across the street opposite to the bus stop when first alight (right photo below).
Jiufen Old Street (九份老街)

Jiufen is located on a seaside mountain area in Ruifang District. Jiufen got its name due to the isolated village that housed nine families during the early Qing Dynasty. Whenever shipments arrived from town, this village would request "nine portions" (九份), thus this would become the name of the village.

Distance View

Mountainous and Sea view could be seen in a distance from the old street entrance (photos below).

Street Structure

Jiufen Old Street is a narrow, winding alleyway with shops, teahouses, and restaurants that offers a glimpse of Taiwanese olden days (photos below).

Notable Buildings

Notable buildings in the old street include the Amei Tea House (阿妹茶樓) that resembles one of the scenes in the animation 'Spirited Away' (left photo below) and Shengping Theater (昇平戲院) that was renovated recently in 2011 (right photo below).

Jiufen Taro Balls

There are two stores in Jiufen that sell the famous taro balls, namely A Gan Yi Taro Balls (阿柑姨芋圆) and Lai Ah Po Taro Balls (赖阿婆芋圆). Lai Ah Po Taro Balls was the first store we encountered. It is located within the old street that is easily recognized from its red lanterns and quaint dinning environment (photos below).
The taro balls of 'Lai Ah Po' featured a colorful variety of five different flavors, including common taro (芋頭), sweet potato (地瓜), purple potato (紫薯), green tea (绿茶) and sesame (芝麻). On top of these balls, there were also red beans, green beans and butter beans. Handmade production of these taro balls could be seen inside the store (left photo below). Bought a cold assorted flavor to try which cost TWD 40 (right photo below). Taste of this snack was refreshing in the warm weather.

Lunch with a Scenic View

Decided to have lunch at about 1 pm after walking till the end of the old street. Walked into the restaurant '忘情小築茶坊' which had the cosy renovation of wood vibes. Ordered a 'Braised Beef Brisket Rice' set (left photo below) which included a glass of iced lemon tea and some orange slices (right photo below) at TWD 250. Fortunate that we were seated next to the balcony and the view was splendid! Furthermore, the beef brisket was good and the portion was just right for me.
We then took the same route back to Taipei.

Eslite Bookstore

Next destination was the 24-hour flagship Eslite Bookstore (誠品) at Xinyi district to browse at its wide selection of books. Opened in 2006, the 8,000 square meter bookstore is Taiwan's largest bookstore.

✍ Update:
Unable to renew its lease, Eslite Bookstore at Xinyi district is closed permanently on 24 Dec 2023. However Eslite's Songyan outlet will continue to stay open 24-hour.

Local Dinner

After gotten some books, we went to the food court located at its basement for dinner. Saw this 'Tainan Oyster Omelette' (台南蚵仔煎) that sells many local Taiwanese dishes (left photo below). Ordered a 'Oyster Omelette with fried bee hoon and tofu' set at TWD 165 (right photo below). It was flavorful with selected portion of my favorite snacks.
Transport to Novotel Hotel

Took metro back to hotel to collect our luggage, and then metro again to Taipei Main Station. Walked towards Taipei West Bus Station Terminal A and got our bus tickets from Kuo-Kuang (國光) which cost TWD 125 per person. While inside the Kuo-Kuang bus, I had a strange feeling of excitement compared to other passengers who were returning back to their countries; it was the start of my new journey (to Okinawa) while others were ending theirs.

Walked towards the pickup point of Novotel hotel and boarded its shuttle bus to the hotel. Checked-in to the hotel at about 9 pm and had a good rest thereafter.