Check our day 1 adventure here!
Since we didn't really have an itinerary, we decided to checkout blogs and tourist brochures to checkout some places to visit (perks of DIY!)
Tamsui Old Street
We rode the subway and with Google Maps at hand, walked our way to Tamsui Old Street. We didn't really know what to see/expect there, we just walked and walked. Apparently the place is full of stores, cafes, and restaurants to hang out. It is also near the Fisherman Wharf wherein you can ride a ferry to Lover's Bridge.
We rode the subway and with Google Maps at hand, walked our way to Tamsui Old Street. We didn't really know what to see/expect there, we just walked and walked. Apparently the place is full of stores, cafes, and restaurants to hang out. It is also near the Fisherman Wharf wherein you can ride a ferry to Lover's Bridge.
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| From the subway, we crossed this street towards Tamsui Old Street. |
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| We walked along this street filled with stores with local delicacies (though we weren't able to try any of them 😅) |
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| We walked for a bit along the bay. That's where we saw the ferry that could take us to Lover's Bridge. We decided to buy some tickets to go there. |
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| While waiting for our ferry's schedule, we tried this ice cream from a store along the bay. It was my first time to try a very tall ice cream! It was very hard (and messy) to finish it all. 😣 (📷: Jamm T) |
Lover's Bridge
It was a ~15minute ride from the wharf to Lover's Bridge. It was windy and cloudy that day. Huge waves clashed to our boat (which made my stomach flip a bit). It was drizzling when we arrived at the bridge. The scenery would have been better if it was sunny, but of course we had to make the most out of what we currently have. We still took lots of photos!
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| Cloudy sky at the bridge (📷: Jamm T) |
There were bike terminals on the other side of the bridge. Ever since I learned how to bike (which was just last year 😂), I told myself I would ride one with every opportunity that I have, especially when overseas, because it's way safer to ride a bike in another country than in ours. So when I saw these YouBikes at the bridge, I checked them out for instructions on how to rent.
Based on the instructions, I either have to
1) Register my EasyCard but I needed to have a local phone number
2) Do a one-time rental, just need to enter credit card details
I didn't want to enter my cc details so I just looked at these bikes longingly. 😅
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| The locals were actually fishing! |
We didn't stay long there because it was still drizzling. So we went back to the ferry to go back to the wharf.
HiWalk Goodies
We were on our way back to the subway station when our friend saw this store. They were selling varieties of Peanut Egg Rolls. Apparently this brand is famous! We saw some signatures of famous artists that have tried this product. The lady there made us try some samples. It tasted good! So we bought a few boxes for us to bring home (and for snacks at the hotel 😋).
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| That is Jackie Chan's signature! |
We were already a bit famished (it was already past lunch time) so we decided to head to Xinyi Road where the original branch of Din Tai Fung is located. Usually there's a long line of wait-listed customers at the front of the store. Luckily during our visit there were none so we were immediately assisted by the staff. It was amusing because their waiters were very well trained - they can speak English well. Our orders didn't take long. My favorite was the crab dumplings. 😋
Chang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
With our stomach full, we decided to go to the Chang Kai Shek Memorial Hall since we were already near the location. Upon entering the gates to the hall, my eyes were greeted with these huge and beautiful temples. My eyes had to look at its entirety to fully absorb the majestic view. This view fondly reminded me of the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul.
There were lots of people walking and taking pictures in park. I enjoyed people watching. 😁 There were lots of youngsters in uniform, so I guess there's a school nearby? Anyway it was so cool just looking at these temples. They even looked more amazing during sunset time.
There were lots of people walking and taking pictures in park. I enjoyed people watching. 😁 There were lots of youngsters in uniform, so I guess there's a school nearby? Anyway it was so cool just looking at these temples. They even looked more amazing during sunset time.
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| Sunset rays beautifully painting this arc. 💗 |
It's nearing the end of the day so we were searching for somewhere to chill before finally going back to the hotel to rest. Our friend saw on the map that there's a nearby branch of Chun Shui Tang, the tea house that claims to have started the bubble tea craze. We even got lost for a bit locating the restaurant because apparently it was located directly underneath one of the theaters there (thanks to blogs, they served as our guide to finally locate the spot).
Apparently there was an ongoing piano performance at the theater. After finishing our milk teas, we got to (very quickly) check out some nearby stores inside the theater. That's where I saw Yiruma's poster, promoting an upcoming concert at the theater. Ahh if only my feet were not that tired, I would have wanted to explore the theater (our friend told us he saw some violins in display in another area 😮) but I didn't want to drag my colleagues... so with a heavy heart, we walked outside to go back to our hotel.
It's already night outside, and the palace were all lit up! It was beautiful!~💗
It was a very tiring day (lots of walking 😅). Of course we still was able to enjoy it! My favorite part was our lunch at Din Tai Fung and our leisurely walk at the Memorial Hall.
More adventures are ahead for day 3! Stay tuned! 😁
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