Solo in Taipei: Day 1

This is where I would say my solo trip travel really started. I’ve been travelling on my own for the last week now through Singapore and Malaysia but the majority of the time, I was with family and friends so I didn’t do very much sightseeing while I was there.

Let’s not forget that I did stay in a hostel in Singapore! So a little bit of solo backpacking there – I guess I’m venturing into this whole solo travelling business bit by bit. I’m really excited to share with you how I spent my time in Taipei. I’ve broken up my itinerary over the number of days that I was there and written them out in sort-of a diary-style so I hope you don’t mind.

Here’s my anecdotes from my solo trip in Taiwan:

Flying from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong then to Taipei. Saw the straightest coast ever as well as these untouched islands on the way.

Flying somewhere over China when I took this picture. I remembered being mesmerised by the scenery thinking it looks like a crater of a lake. To be able to see it from so high up yet it looks so close. Stunning, isn’t it??

I arrived in Taipei very late at night and pretty much crashed straight into bed. It had been a long day – I flew from KL to Hong Kong and managed to check in just in the nick of time for Taipei. It was like 5 minutes before check in closed!!

Then another stress-fest ensues when I arrived in Taipei because I couldn’t withdraw any cash using my bank card. I had no Taiwanese money on me and panicked because it meant that I’d have no way of getting into the city!

Thank goodness, I remembered I had my dad’s bank card (only to be ever used in emergencies and so glad that I had it on me this time!). The ATM accepted his card and finally gave me some cash! Phew~ I would have been totally stranded otherwise! It”s no surprise that I woke up late the next morning and just headed straight to a nearby shopping centre for a shabu shabu lunch treat…. yummy!

2-28 Memorial Peace Park

After lunch, with sustenance and a new determination, I took the MRT to 2-28 Memorial Peace Park , established during the Qing Dynasty and is the oldest park in Taipei. Such a peaceful park considering it is located in the heart of the city. There were families roaming around taking pictures, a man feeding squirrels (but being attacked by pigeons who were after the food instead!), people taking a quick break in the rest area around the park. It was very peaceful and calming.

While strolling around, I came across a fish food machine near a pond. It’s like a snack machine but it pops out fish food when you put in some money. I thought it was a marvelous idea!!! Can you tell that the simplest things amuses me??

I bought some and had fun feeding them for a while but I think the fishies are very well fed because they didn’t come rushing for the food like most fishes do. The turtles and the ducks were the ones racing towards me instead! 🙂

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Walked over to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall to find loads of tourist buses at the entrance so I vowed to come back early in the morning during the week to take some more photos.