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

<<< Day Ten

Detailed Postings for the Day

• Breakfast at Morni莫尼 (Meichun Branch) 
• IPPUDO Ramen @ Xinwuri HSR Station
• Smart Green Energy Waiting Room @ Taoyuan Airport
• Pili Puppet Legend Waiting Room @ Taoyuan Airport

Last day in Taiwan and I was gearing for a jog only to hear the pitter-pattering of raindrops at the window. A cold 10 degree-celcius day, that was supposed to feel like 3 degree celcius! Back onto the bed and doom-scroll while waiting for Alex to wake up. 

Time to pack up and check out from Tea Way Hotel. For my review of the hotel that's superbly near Taichung Train Station (even though we didn't take the train throughout the few days at Taichung), click here!  

Another advantage staying near Tea Way Hotel; the sheer amount of Southeast Asian eateries in the area, although I don't understand why you would want to seek out Southeast Asian food when you are not in Southeast Asia. 

With no particular eatery I wanted to to try, a search on Google Maps brought us to Morni莫尼 (Meichun Branch) cafe, supposedly a chain serving typical Taiwanese breakfast fare. 

Breakfast was alright but I am most impressed with the service standard of the young boys who were likely helping out their parents as it was already the school break then given the proximity to lunar new year. 

After returning our rental car at the Ho Ing counter conveniently located within Xinwuri HSR Station, it's time to worry about lunch even though our breakfast was just a mere one hour ago. To be honest, I was so keen to get a bento and then indulge on the train! 

Sadly, I wasn't craving for rice. Instead, the IPPUDO Ramen restaurant at Xinwuri HSR Station caught my eyes, and without much hesitation, I was seated and before long; I was hungrily slurping down strands of ramen! Shiok! 

Still have an hour or so to go and there were plenty of shops within the HSR station where my shopping continues, despite the lack of luggage space! Frankly, you can leave your souvenir shopping (food and non-food) to the very last day as there were so, so much to shop! 

Time to take the high speed railway! We have pre-booked our seats via the official HSR website here so that we would be guaranteed seats. Necessary especially when we have so many pieces of luggage with us.

We had to resort to placing our cabin luggage in front of our seats! p.s. we booked business class tickets; at my age, comfort is much more important than saving money.

Time to speed towards the special municipality of Taoyuan! 

Alex preparing to eat his Sukyia takeaway in the train whereas almost full me would make do with the snacks that were given as part of the business class experience. I just read that the snacks were unlimited! Not that it matters much to me though. 

Weather got progressively better as the high speed train went north, with the clouds slowing clearing up. You may wish to consider buying seats on the right side since you would be granted views of the mountain range in the middle of the island. 

Arrival at the Taoyuan HSR station and I saw there appeared to be a number of malls here, including the Gloria Outlet Mall! Next time, maybe I should stay at Taoyuan for a night or two! 

And instead of taking the train to the airport; maybe a cab ride instead since there were hardly enough space for our luggage! Not to mention that the train operates more like an MRT in Singapore, where passengers flow would be much higher than a high speed train. 

Checking in to Taoyuan International Airport! The queue to check in for Singapore Airlines was super long; thankfully, it cleared pretty fast. All airports should consider going to full force on self check-in and baggage check-in...

Time, to, shop, again! 

Last beverage in Taiwan; and rightfully an authentic Taiwanese bubble milk tea from Chun Shui Tang; the founder of bubble milk tea, which has a branch within the airport.

One commercial outlet I would recommend all outgoing passengers to visit; the Taiwan Museum shop! This might come as a surprise as I have never visited the National Palace Museum at Taipei, although I have been to Taiwan three times! 

There were a ton of beautiful things I wanted to purchase for my home! They were so unique, many of which have a modern twist, like the frog with a coin jutting out of its mouth. Prices were a bit high though.  

Checking out the two themed waiting rooms at the airport; the Smart Green Energy Waiting Room and the Pili Puppet Legend Waiting Room. Changi Airport should consider incorporating this for their check out gates for terminal 5! 

Boarding the plane soon!

Departure timing: 5.35pm.

Boarded the Boeing B787-10 plane and was allocated the bulkhead seat! So much legroom for me, but to be fair, I am short so it might not matter that much for someone who is six feet tall. 

Setting sun! 

Airplane successfully took off at about 5.51pm; slight delay although not a problem for me as my heart would love to remain in Taiwan for as long as I could. This post took almost 18 months, meaning it has also been this long since my visit to Taiwan. Time to plan for another trip!

Our meal in the plane.

No complaint; loving the ice cream. 

First thing to do after clearing immigration at Changi International Airport; free duty alcohol purchases and helping a friend to buy Kavalan Whisky. So expensive; beer for the win. 

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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)

Pili Puppet Legend Waiting Room @ Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan

Following the Smart Green Energy Waiting Room at Taoyuan Airport, I chanced upon another theme waiting room next door; the Pili Puppet Legend Waiting Room!

Showcasing glove puppetry, also known as hand puppet theatre, it originated from the fujian province in mainland China and eventually made its way across to Taiwan in the middle of the Qing Dynasty.

Even though we also have glove puppetry in Singapore (a dying trade given the lack of popularity), there were noticeable differences to the puppets' attire and even the facial expression.

Much more elaborate, and prettier for the Taiwan puppets, to the extent I feel that they could have been the Taiwanese version of barbie dolls! In reality, however, only the head, feet and hands are made of wood. 

Different kind of characters in the glove puppetry. This themed room is called Pili Puppet Legend because it was named after "a well-known glove puppetry TV show in Taiwan that emerged in the 1980s" and revolutionize the traditional show by "incorporating animation into its performance"! 

Mind you; Pili has "released nearly 80 series, totaling over 3,000 hours of story content, and created more than 4,000 heroic characters."! Now, that's quite a feat for a puppet show! 

Moving on with times, their characters had also taken on a more cutesy look, that would appeal to the many youngsters who are obsessed with anime. My niece, Jovyn, would be one of them.

 I wouldn't be surprised there's a blind-box version for the characters of the puppet show. With over 4,000 characters, there's a huge market with plenty of money to earn. Problem was; is the appeal limited to just Taiwan? 

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Location

Near Gate D7,

Taoyuan International Airport

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)