Day One of the 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip 2025

<<< Summarized Itinerary

Detailed Postings for the Day

1. The Eyes In The Sky
2. E-gates at Taoyuan International Airport 
3. Mega Hotel (鉅陞嘉義亮點旅店) 
4. Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路觀光夜市) 
5. Pin An Tofu Pudding (品安豆漿豆花) 
6. Stinky Tofu (花莲玉里臭豆腐)

Total luggage for a 11-day trip. I would deem this as excessive for two persons but I am super afraid of winter travel and winter wear isn't exactly space saving! Thicker clothing, and I don't think I can remove long pants, and covered shoes.

Celebration of Hello Kitty’s golden jubilee at Terminal 3 of Changi International Airport. This shall serve as memory since the celebration had ended on 16 February 2025.

Even though we would be travelling on a full service airline where food would be provided, it's almost customary for Alex and I to go for expensive, local fare at the airport before we depart. Local coffee and toast (from Ya Kun) would always be comfortable.

Pretty good weather! 

It's always unnerving to fly in bad weather. 

Time to fly, with a queue in front of our plane (Boeing B787-10). Time was almost noon time and based on estimation, we shall arrive about 5.00 to 6.00 pm. While I would prefer an earlier timing, I personally don't like to wake up at an ungodly hour to catch an earlier flight. So to each his/her own. 

My meal. Nowadays, I would just ask for special meal although I would prefer an option that's currently unavailable on Singapore Airlines website; starch-free meal. Correction: SQ does have a Gluten Free Meal.

I think the plane was only half full.

Thankfully, the good weather continued all the way till Taiwan! And due to our window facing (towards the east), we managed to have a breathtaking view of the central mountain range that cuts across the island, from north to south! Click here under "The Eyes In The Sky"

After registering for electronic-gates at Taoyuan International Airport and rapidly clearing immigration, we collected our luggage and take the MRT to the Taoyuan HSR station. Caught the beautiful sunset from the train! 

Awaiting for the HSR train at the barrier free platform! We didn't pre-purchase the tickets and had to make do with non-reserved seats, which means there's a risk of having to stand for the entire journey! Pricing NT$1,700 for two persons.

Alex so serious!

C'mon, chill please!

Here comes the train! 

We didn't manage to get a seat for most part of the 200-kilometer journey but well, let's continue to remain cheerful. And one hour isn't exactly a long duration to endure while standing up.

The stomach was rumbling when we arrived at Chiayi HSR station. So, we did what Alex loves most when he is overseas. A meal at a fast food restaurant; specifically, MOS Burger. 

Taking cab to our hotel.

Mega Hotel (鉅陞嘉義亮點旅店); near Chiayi train station and equipped with a gym. p.s. why mega I also don't know but review score was 4.3 from over 2,000 reviewers. 

Out on the street, in search of food, and walked past a claw machine shop! Frankly, I don't understand the craze over them and can't imagine why they could be so widespread, especially when they don't seem to have many customers. Last statement was applicable for Singapore too.

At Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路觀光夜市), which was within walking distance from Mega Hotel. Super comfortable to walk in the nice and cool temperature of only about 12 degrees celcius! 

When you see something steaming in cool weather, it's natural to crave for the food it served! No, I had to tell myself Alex wouldn't likely share it with me, and I am not wasteful enough to just eat a little and throw away.

Explore the side lanes and had desserts at Pin An Tofu Pudding (品安豆漿豆花). I don't know about you but I personally prefer the plain old local beancurd in Singapore, like the ones from Mr Bean.   

Remember this statue a man throwing a baseball; go in the direction towards the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路觀光夜市) and you would find a nice Stinky Tofu (花莲玉里臭豆腐). My first stinky tofu in Taiwan! 

Why the pedestrian countdown for the traffic lights so cute?! Do you also know that the animated green man for the countdown first started in Taiwan back in 1999?! Yes, the first in the whole world.

Ending the night with a photograph of us in front of Chiayi train station!

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Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

Sunmai Bar - Trying the World Champion Craft Beer; Honey Lager @ Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan

Roaming around Taoyuan International Airport while waiting for the arrival of our plane back to Singapore, the above notice caught my attention. World Champion Craft Beer; I do love a glass of craft beer and more so if it was a champion!

Three types of lager to choose from at Sunmai Bar, and I was pleased to see that the 2022 champion was the honey lager! With an ABV (alcohol by volume) of a comfortable 5%, I had to fork out the 200 Taiwan dollars to give this a try.

Finding a comfortable seat at the bar to enjoy my beer! From what I read on the web, this sunmai beer was from this company called Le Ble D’or.

Would this be the perfect foam to beer ratio? The scrooge in me would prefer lesser foam so that I would have more beer content to enjoy but there are reasons for the foam, affecting aroma, texture and flavor.

Enjoying my 400ml beer. Despite the popularity of beer drinking in Taiwan, I actually didn't drink much in my eight days in Taiwan. That's actually quite a pity as a sip at bedtime can result in an extremely nice sleep. 

Loving what I had; the beer was smooth with a honey sweetness (from longan apparently) that kind of of complemented the bitterness. What I would really need would be some beer bites to perfect the experience. 

Burp! Almost got a second glass but was stopped by my dad, who doesn't drink. :( 

The awards; I am no beer connoisseur although they don't matter to me as everyone is entitled to their own preference. For me, as an example, I have a stronger liking in general for Japanese beer. 

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Address

3rd Floor (Departure Area), Terminal 1, 

Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan

Pricing

Honey Lager - 200 Taiwan Dollars

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

山海豆花 MATA Tofu Pudding @ Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan

Some friends know that I love soya beancurd dessert although I can be quite selective; preferring the ones from Mr Bean for their silky smoothness. 

However, this little cart-like store at Taoyuan International Airport caught my attention as I was waiting for our plane ride back to Singapore; 山海豆花 MATA Tofu Pudding.

I was especially intrigued by their Taiwan No 1 red bean filled boba tofu pudding with peanut crisp. Costing NT$120 (about S$5.00), it's not cheap but curiosity forced me to order one bowl to try! 

Served on a golden-rimmed bowl, it's no doubt that this was a visually luxurious bowl of soya beancurd with so much ingredients! My usual order from Mr Bean was much simpler; with just beancurd and sugar syrup.

For Singaporeans, this might feel more like a fusion cross between beancurd, bubble tea and taro bowl soup, similar to Nine Fresh. Personally, I am okay with fusion but not when one's taste was overshadowed / overwhelmed by the others. In this case, I could hardly discern the aroma of beans from the beancurd although I recall texture wise, it's smooth and soft.

Candied peanut crisps added a crunchy texture in every bite and while red bean filled boba was interesting, I preferred good old red beans, mushy or not, instead of having them encased. 

As mentioned earlier, too many ingredients might not be a good thing and honestly, I think they could have just removed the golden pearls and tasteless mochi for better tasting experience. 

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I couldn't seem to find the store anymore on the website of Taoyuan International Airport but if you are interested to check it out, you may refer to the website of 山海豆花 MATA Tofu Pudding at https://www.matatofupudding.com/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Red Bean Filled Boba Tofu Pudding with Peanut Crisp - NT$120

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers

The Wooderful Land @ Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan

From the outside, this section within the departure hall of Taoyuan International Airport appeared to be just a wood-themed seating area filled with fake trees that wouldn't have survived in such indoor atmosphere. 

It's much more than that! Known as the The Wooderful Land, I would deem this as an informative exhibition that those waiting for their plane should check out. For example, an answer to why trees were so capable of carbon storage1 

The exhibition hoped to trigger your four senses; sight, touch, hearing etc. The above may seem like sex toys but they served to excite your sense of smell, with the aroma of essential oils made from three different types of wood found in Taiwan. 

Sounds of wood - not that effective for a tone-deaf person like me!

Touch the various kinds of wood. To me, wood is just wood and that's the reason why I prefer to have a black and white theme for my apartment. There are just too many types of wood, not to mention that many used for furniture are simply just plywood. Those pure wood ones would be too expensive! 

Advantages of wood although I am more intrigued by the secrets of the pores. What pores?! I only know wood has those lines officially known as wood grains. 

Explanation on a specific tree; like this radiata pine which is also known as new zealand pine. This feels so much like I was in a zoo, albeit a much smaller scale. 

Ending this post with the cute version of the Formosan black bear; endemic, and the only native bear species in Taiwan. From the pictures I found online, the Formosan black bear has a same appearance as the sun bear but it's much larger! 

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Address

Within Taoyuan International Airport

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers