Hey guys so this is the breakdown of what we did on Day 1 - (29th June was when we arrived at Singapore Airport, we arrived in Taiwan on the 30th of June)
We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 2 at 10.30pm to check-in and go in early to experience the awesomeness of Singapore's glorified airport. Also, we wanted to grab some food. Being cheapos we opted to just get Scoot's FlyBag deal. We bought some McDonald's for dinner - mainly the boyfriend since I came over from my cousin's wedding dinner.
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| Me and the Harrod's Bear in SIngapore Changi Airport Terminal 2. |
GATE CHANGES.
They can occur at the very last minute, and there are certain locations where screens are not in view for you to keep your eye on the gate change. So bear in mind that you should always check on the TV screen for any gate changes: this has happened 3 times to me in the Singapore Airport. GOSH.
Well as you can expect, my travel mate and I were subject to this gate change - we were literally running from one end of the airport to another -.-
BUT ANYWAY.. we arrived at the right gate, and since the flight was a little late, everyone was chilling in the departure lounge and watching the world cup. I sat on the floor trying to cram some Korean phrases because there weren't enough seats (weird huh) - it wasn't a full flight at all.
The minute the flight took off at 12.30am, we browsed a couple of the magazines and duty free things that were in the seat pockets.
The crew gave out immigration forms (REMEMBER TO TAKE YOURS).
For me, I have difficulty sleeping on planes, even overnight flights. So I just cranked some tunes on my iPod and stared out the window (while attempting to cram more Korean learning. Fatigue probably got the best of me and I fell asleep, waking up to this beautiful view at about 4.45am.
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| It looked like the clouds formed little building silhouettes with the sun shining on the horizon. |
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| You will know that you have arrived in Taiwan when you see this: Taoyuan International Airport. |
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| Found this on my luggage when it came out on the belt - it means "end". My luggage was the last one that came out of the plane. |
Remember what I mentioned in the earlier post about Scoot having crappy timings? Well we arrived in Taoyuan International Airport at 5am (about half an hour ahead of schedule). It's great because you head out and start the day straight on, but the thing about arriving that early is that none of the shops or counters are open (namely the Phone ones, and the Tourist Information Counter). So we spent about an hour and a half waiting in the airport for the phone counters to open. Well why not grab a bite - we were slightly hungry (that's what travelling does to you).
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When you go to Taiwan, or if you talk to anyone about Taiwan, everyone raves about how awesome their CONVENIENCE STORES are. Yes Korea, we know you have awesome convenience stores, but having been to both countries, Taiwan wins hands down. They have onigiris, bubbling hot soup, roasted sweet potatoes, their instant noodle collection is amazing (with real meat inside), and microwavable Taiwanese style food which tastes so good you wouldn't have known it was chilled/frozen if you hadn't taken it from the fridge.
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| This is what I got for breakfast: Lobster Salad Onigiri and Mineshine Milk Tea. The travel mate got himself a big bowl of beef instant noodles with real tender beef inside. |
When buying your phone card, you should bear in mind which Telcos are better. I was told that Taiwan Big Brother (台湾大哥大）is the better Telco among the rest that were there with better connection and reception. Airports have tourist packages (packages which are more suitable to tourists' needs) not necessarily at a higher price, hence we insisted on waiting for the phone shops to open instead of heading straight to Taipei City. We bought the 7-day plan (I can't quite remember the price) but no worries there is unlimited data for this 7-day plan and it was not expensive.
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Once we bought our phone cards, and ensured that they were working (the lady will tell you to install the card on the spot to ensure it works - they have good service like that!), we decided to go get the Youth Card which applies to anyone below the age of 35 (it gets you some discounts at some places). The tourist information counter at Taoyuan International Airport then told us that they no longer give the cards out there and told us to get the card at Taipei Main Station instead. Since we were headed there, we thanked her and left.
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We then headed down one floor to the bus port. This is where you can buy bus tickets to your destination - we were heading to Taipei Bus Station/Taipei Main Station of which there were 2 bus companies that went that way. One of the companies is Kuo Kuang Bus Company (but they do not have very frequent timings). We missed the Kuo Kuang Bus so we took the next available one (I think CitiBus). The bus is really affordable for a generally comfortable journey. Try to get on early and get a good seat (some have leaky aircons). Luggages are stowed at the bottom of the bus before boarding and the driver will give you a luggage tag number to get your luggage later.
The journey from Taoyuan to Taipei Main Station takes about an hour, so take your time to rest and relax on the bus. Don't worry about missing the stop, the Taipei Main Station is where most people alight.
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| On board the bus, we sat right at the back. There were many Korean and Chinese tourists. FYI: many selfish tourists like to put their bags on extra seats. If you need the seat, tell them to remove it, they only paid for 1 ticket aka 1 seat. Since you paid too, you should get 1. |
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| Saw an old man selling ginormous watermelons from Hualien while on the bus. |
Upon arrival at Taipei Main Station, we decided that we should ditch ourselves of our luggages. So we headed to CityInn Hotel 1 which was just across the road from where we alighted.
*Don't make the mistake most people do by using the underground mall to get to destinations if you are lugging around your heavy luggages. Use the main road, there are traffic lights and pedestrian crossings so you can cross with ease.
CityInn Hotel
Taipei Station Branch 1
No.7, Huaining St., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City 100, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Facilities on the Second Floor
Cafeteria: stoves, water dispenser, microwave, coffee machine and refrigerator are available FOC.
Laundry: washing machine, tumble dryer, washing powder and ironing board are provided FOC. (irons are only available at the front desk).
Website: www.cityinn.com.tw/
No.7, Huaining St., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City 100, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Facilities on the Second Floor
Cafeteria: stoves, water dispenser, microwave, coffee machine and refrigerator are available FOC.
Laundry: washing machine, tumble dryer, washing powder and ironing board are provided FOC. (irons are only available at the front desk).
Website: www.cityinn.com.tw/
The staff at CityInn Hotel were extremely friendly and had great service. We placed our luggage with the front counter and decided to go out and explore Taipei, then come back later to check-in.
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We walked around the Taipei Main Station, went to buy drinks at convenience stores and explored the Breeze Taipei Station. It only has food, so go there if you are looking for stuff to munch on.
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| This drink series was something I planned to try when I came to Taipei. |
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| Taipei Main Station - always bustling with activity. |
SINGAPOREANS NOTE: Get your EasyCards in Singapore by visiting the Taipei Tourist Counter in Singapore. Click on this link below to find out more details about getting to this place:
http://taipeidreams.com/2012/03/your-freebie-before-flying-to-taiwan/
This means that we saved NTD100 on a deposit of the card.
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Next, you can head to the tourist information counter in the Taipei Main Station to get your Youth Card (we ended up only using it at the Taipei 101 but I guess you can use it at other places as well if it fits your schedule - we didn't manage to go to all the places we wanted to).
For more information on the Youth Card, please click on this link below:
https://youthtravel.tw/sub_en/card/index.php
Stay tuned to the next post on what we did for Day 1.
Don't forget to leave any comments or tips for me on how to improve my blog posts!
Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V
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