Detailed Postings for the Day
All rise and shine on the last day of our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers; starting the day with breakfast at Taipei's Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel.
Along the main road in front of the hotel, where the beautiful sight of Taipei 101, Taiwan's tallest building (and ranked the 11th tallest in world) greeted us.
Exit 2 of Shandao Temple which was right in front of Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel. A memory of mine was the nearby McDonald's (you can see the sign) where Alex and I had our first meal on our virgin trip to Taipei back in 2014.
First stop - Bangka Longshan Temple!
Some photographs for your viewing pleasure; for more on this historical temple that had its origins from the 1700s, please visit this separate posting here.
Chanced upon the Bopiliao Historical Block near the temple.
Sadly, it was closed on Mondays.
Random sights along the street as we made our way back to our hotel, on foot. Just kidding as it would be a walk of over 3 kilometers. My intention was more to stroll over to Ximen mrt station, just about 1.3 kilometers.
The tree was blossoming with pink flowers!
Such a pretty sight in the midst of trees that had remained green.
Bell tower built in the Japanese design; known as the Nishi Honganji Bell Tower that was part of the Western Temple of the Original Vow restored in 2012.
Presidential Office Building; it's actually open to the public on weekdays for free, and you may refer to here for more information, including schedule, tour timing etc.
Arrived at Ximending and taking photographs, once again, in front of the iconic Red House. Key difference from past visits would be the significant reduction of people photobombing the photos!
What's the most instagrammable spot in Ximending? It had to be the rainbow pathway that's known as Rainbow Six. It was created on 25 September 2019, after "Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage".
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I didn't have breakfast at Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel as I was more keen to explore authentic Taiwanese fare! And here's my morning meal at 朝柴JhaoChai肉蛋吐司.
Must be some high ranking officer.
Back at Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel as it was about time for us to make a final check before leaving for the airport. Above was a dragon throne I found on the same level as the gym. Definitely a nice setting for photo-taking with the older generation.
With some time to go, I decided to explore the immediate surroundings in case I have more things to buy! Good thing about tour packages was that our baggage capacity can include our tour mates and from what I see, I should have more "room" to squeeze in more stuff!
Hence, I got a mystery (or prosperity) bag from Family Mart Taiwan for just 249 Taiwan dollars! In Singapore, such practices are not common. Some retailers attempted but many shoppers didn't buy into it as products in the bag were often low-priced and/or low quality, meaning you don't quite save much.
Had my first milk tea from the original brand that gave us Koi in Singapore! I am also sharing the price list so that we all know how ridiculously priced milk tea is on our little red dot!
On our way to the airport.
Arrival at Taoyuan International Airport, known as "the busiest and largest in Taiwan". Do you know that it was originally known as Chiang Kai-shek International Airport until it was renamed in 2006?
Our luggage, which was much reduced, in terms of weight, as compared to the first time I went Taiwan! Back then, our luggage topped 80 kilograms, and we had to miraculously shed 20 kilogram so that we didn't have to fork out S$20 per kilo for excess baggage.
Without the burden of the luggage, it's time to check out the airport. But since I am with my dad, there's only so much I could shop as he would have just complained that it's unnecessary. Wet blanket.
I did almost get my hands on these piggy banks. However, the price of almost S$90 stopped me; what's the point if I want to save money but have to spend more money to buy a piggy bank!? That doesn't make sense when I only save coins, not notes.
At my workplace, there were discussions on having prayer rooms and when I chanced upon the prayers at the airport, which catered to different religions; I immediately took photographs to share with my colleagues. Do check out my post on "Prayer Rooms for Different Religions"
Impossible for me not to eat anything in the airport. You may refer to 山海豆花 MATA Tofu Pudding, where I had beancurd with too many ingredient, and Sunmai Bar where I indulged in a small glass of award winning draft beer, for more info.
The Wooderful Land - one of the many themed waiting rooms at Taoyuan International Airport. I went to check and there are like 29 different themes! There's even a Hello Kitty one at Gate C2.
Was this a China Airlines plane? A lot of people were confused between China Airline and Air China. Former is a state-owned airline under the Republic of China (better known as Taiwan) and latter is the flag carrier for the People's Republic of China.
Time to board the plane!
We shall be taking Scoot Airline. Frankly, ever since the borders re-opened when the world began to live with COVID19, I have not taken a budget airline, until January 2024.
Check out the time lapse video of the landing and taking off at and from Taoyuan International Airport!
More photos taken in the air; I didn't have a separate post under the label "the eyes in the sky" as there weren't many notable buildings around the airport and that the plane quickly raised above the low clouds.
I did spot a short rainbow though, and if you take a closer look at the second photograph, there was a plane flying at a lower altitude! Ever wonder how air traffic works? Technically, without roads, would we have a situation whereby ten airplanes can fly above and below one another?
The sight below caught my attention; aren't the padi fields too close to the ocean? Wouldn't that contaminate the fields? I found the place on Google Maps; one of the notable attractions is Hanbao Wetlands!
More on the views outside.
Dinner time; as part of our tour, meals were catered for us on the budget airline. The oriental treasure rice was actually pretty good; I would say it's like eating a larger portion of lo mai kai, but much less saucy.
Sneaked on an additional snack; the Beef with Cheese and Peanut Butter toast that I purchased earlier from 朝柴JhaoChai肉蛋吐司; p.s. pork was better.
Marvelled at the sunset views outside the plane.
The hues were enchanting!
Landed safely at Changi International Airport and finally concluding our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers that took place from 25 December 2023 till 01 January 2024.
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