Taiwan 2013 - Day 1.

Boy am I knackered.

Here's why.

I woke up at 5am today to prepare and make sure I didn't forget anything. It's not like it was a big deal seeing as most things can be bought, but still, I did it anyway.

We got to the airport on time and had MacDingding for breakfast.

I pretty much slept the 5 hours flight away, which was ace !

As soon as we arrived at Taoyuan airport, the first thing I did was visit the convenience shop to get myself a pack of cigarettes and a drink. After I satisfied my cigarette craving, we walked toward the taxi counter. I somehow managed to ask it would have cost to get into Taipei. I was pretty chuffed with her quote and off we went.

I have no idea how long the taxi ride took as I was asleep half the time. And I didn't take note of the time either. :x

When I opened my eyes, I recognized my surroundings. That could only mean that we had arrived at Ximending. He then dropped us off at the address that was on my print-out. The hotel that I booked was called Diary of Taipei. Problem ? There wasn't any sign that said that. I then panicked as my mandarin is a fail.com standard. I paced up and down the same street about 10 times even after asking 2 different vendors. I couldn't really understand what they were saying. An awesome taxi uncle then approached me and showed me the way. Thank you uncle ! It was actually located on the fifth floor of this building that I past 10 times.

So anyways, all I said was a hello whilst checking in and whipped out my booking print out. She then asked me in Japanese for my passport and I said okay. After receiving my passport, she whispers to her colleague, "Oh ? She's not" and  then goes on to ask if I can speak mandarin. I told her it wasn't very good. And then pop comes another guy who spoke fluent Japanese. Hahahaha. Awesome huh ?

We rested for a little bit before heading out.

I had my itinerary all planned out in case you were wondering !

But before heading for our first place of interest, we had a cheeky bowl of noodles and a cup of milk tea. The thing about milk teas in Taiwan, is that 9 out of 10 different shops you buy from would end up tasting great ! It's like the norm for me to have 2 - 5 cups of milk tea a day whilst in Taiwan. Now you can push your jaw back up.

I think 'h Chung noodle shop has just got themselves a new fan - my grand-mother.

After refuelling, we headed for our first stop - Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall.

We were rather lucky to be honest.

Firstly, we managed to climb to the top of the stairs and have a look at the statue of Chiang Kai Shek before they closed for the day.

Secondly - When we were about to leave, I heard marching and got really excited when I saw the soldiers. We actually managed to catch their performance of the taking down of the flag. I don't know what else to call it. Or ceremony maybe ?

Here are some of the pictures from our visit to the memorial hall.

Next on our list was Shilin night market.

We headed for the night market straight after a short rest.

We didn't have a proper dinner. We ate little bit of different things till we both became full.

I was carrying different bags at one time which made it really difficult for me to snap pictures, so pardon me for the limited photos of the snacks.

If you've been there, you'll know that the Shilin night market is huge, so after all that walking, my granny had to rest. We found a little bench facing the main road and had a sit down. I noticed some police cars and I just had to take a picture of it.

How awesome do they look ?

We then traine-d it back to Ximending. I took my grand-mother back to the hotel before heading back down into the streets of Ximending by myself to do some shopping.

So anyways, before I say good night, here's a picture which I found rather amusing.

Okay, I'll be good. I shall not flash my tissue paper !