A blessing that we were able to unwind prior the global lockdown due to Covid-19.
Our itinerary was based on the things and activities that we wanted to do in Taiwan and naturally, we all agreed to attend the lantern festival.Sharing you the summary of our 'unforgettable' 2020 travel ðĪĢ
First Part
Arrived in Taipei and left our bags at the hotel before we walked around Ximending.
Prior that, while at the airport, we rented a wifi device before heading to Taipei (recommended!)
We availed a day tour via Klook and went to see the following places/attractions in:
Taichung:
Zhongshe Flower Mart
Flower lovers will definitely like this place. Everywhere we look, there's different types of flowers that I myself is not sure of the names or types (sorry, I am not a plant person but I appreciate these beauties).
Walk around the whole area and feast your eyes to the colorful flowers all at once ð
Rainbow Village
From colorful flowers to colorful houses!
To save the village from demolition, Huang Yung-Fu, now known as Rainbow Grandpa, painted houses in different colorful designs.
When we arrived, I first thought of how will it be if these houses were actually classrooms?
Isn't it a joy to spend learning surrounded by colorful doodle arts and designs!
Gaomei Wetlands
After all places colorful - the tour ended at Gaomei, where the cold never bothered us anyway (lol).
The wetland was said to be famous for sunsets. t
In oir visit, the wind was really strong. I personally thanked my facemask, otherwise, I feel that my whole face will be numbed and maybe I'll develop blisters ðĪĢ
From afar, you'll also see the towering windmills! Anyway, the sunset was indeed nice but somehow it didn't pass my expectation since I've seen a lot of sunsets back home.
After the sunset, we boarded the tour bus and went back to the city.
Next stop: Keelung
Second Part
Keelung
We stayed in Keelung area to see Jiufen area and the lantern festival in Pingxi.
Keelung City is a port city near Taipei.
Keelung Night Market
A lot of food choices! It was a bit raining but we persisted ð
We like chicken chop and beef! We also had hakaw and more.
Xu, Zi-Sang Historical Home
The house looked creepy and it wasn't maintained, hence, visit or step inside the place at your own risk ð
Jiufen
Jiufen is a mountain town known as an old town. The view from above is wonderful!
I think we kinda got lost as the narrow alleyways looked the same.
We saw a lot of food, souvenirs, teashops and milktea ð
• Xing Fu Tang
Brown sugar milktea tastes good!
• Amei Teahouse
Known for their best quality teas! We weren't able to try their tea due to volume of guests and limited time.
Pingxi
Pingxi is a rural district in New Taipei.
Our fist stop was Shifen Waterfall, also know as 'Little Niagara of Taiwan.'
It was cold but we were very excited for the lantern festival. At around 6pm, we went to the area where we can watch the release of hundred lanterns at a time.
Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is a yearly festival where people gather to write their dreams and wishes for the year on the lanterns before releasing it to the sky.
We didn't do it since we need to register first and it might take so long for our turn to release the lanterns. Hence, after watching 3 to 5 sets of lanterns released above, we opted to go back home.
We passed by food stalls and tried some! We also went to Shifen Old Street to check the old railway and lantern shops.
We then head back to Keelung. We were so thankful since the organizers prepared free transportation for everyone. All you need to do is find the bus that stops in the area you will be going and wait for your turn to be seated.
A tiring day, plus the cold weather and rain, still, worth it!
Last Part
After staying in Keelung for 2 nights, we went back to Taipei for a quick city tour and food trip before flying back to Manila.
For easy guidance and transport, we availed the bus tour and chose the places we wanted to visit.
Mengjia Longshan Temple
A temple for Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian faiths (source: CultureTrip).
We stayed here for a bit and paid respect.
Taipei 101
World's tallest building from 2004 until 2010.
We just went to the garden area and didn't really avail an observatory ticket.
We ate at Din Tai Fung while checking the news about the possible lockdown due to Covid-19.
Huashan 1914 Creative Park
It was a winery turned park (source: Undiscovered Taipei).
We strolled around the park before passing by a coffeeshop!
There were restaurants inside as well.
Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial
A place built for Chiang Kai-Shek, who led Kuomintang (National Chinese Party) and transferred to Taiwan (source: BBC UK).
We weren't able to witness the changing of the guards but it's okay!
As usual, we ended the day with food ð
Comes midnight, I've received an email that our flight was cancelled and the option is to board the 2am flight ðŦ
Imagine our adrenaline rush at that time! It's either we extend our stay or we go for the 2am with only an hour or so to board the flight. We don't know how we managed to pull it off ðĪĢ
We didn't make it on time so we asked them nicely since.
Good thing they were kind enough to assist us. So yes, hello Manila in 2hrs and really, it was very tiring ðĪŠ
Memorable travel in 2020!
Good thing they were kind enough to assist us. So yes, hello Manila in 2hrs and really, it was very tiring ðĪŠ
Memorable travel in 2020!
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