Jewels that dance: Taiwan: 10-18 Oct'14 8D7N in the land of bubble tea land Day 4: Taipei

Finally back to blog on the remaining days in Taiwan! My camera starting giving problems once we were back in Taipei, should I say it’s a blessing in disguise since we managed to capture the beautiful scenery in Taichung on Day 2 and 3 here?(:

We took a taxi from Taichung to Taipei (the kind taxi uncle offered us a decent deal since he has been bringing us around Taichung for the past 2 days), approx. 3000NTD a tad more expensive than the price of the railway for 3, minus the hassle of lugging the luggages up and down the train and commuting to cab from the station to the hostel. We booked Good9stay inn for our remaining 5 days in Taichung

Good9stay inn is located in one of the little lanes which the Taxi can’t go in so you would have to alight by the main road and walk in if you are cabbing.

At the Ximending area, our cab took a turn which passed by Ximending metro station exit 6, after which it alighted at the next junction after Watsons. The junction would be after the little alley lane you would have to walk in to the inn(about 3 mins). Look out for the colourful signboard situated on your left.

You can’t miss the colourful signboard perched on the building. It’s actually located on the 5^th floor of a shopping mall so keep a lookout for the signboard!

Website

And oh boy, was I totally elated when I stepped into the room. I’m a lover of spaces and perhaps I do have abit of claustrophobia and it was really too cramp for my liking for the Taichung’s hostel, though given the price I can’t complain much.

Big spacious beds and cupboard for your belongings. Ours is a triplet room if you are wondering

But this is massive love! It’s like a mini apartment with ample room space, spacious beds and walking arena, a mini ‘kitchen’ wash up area etc.

And like always, one of the best things in the overseas trip, is to have complimentary wifi in the room! We faced some difficulties in the connection, probably due to too many users, but overall it was ok!

Basic amentities like hair dryer and toiletries are also provided.

We paid SGD 593.87 for our 6D5N for the triplet room, which works out to ~40SGD per night per person.

The hostel is secured with heavy metal gates at the entrance of each level and you can get complimentary top up of water from the common area just behind the lift(:

After disembarking our cargo, it’s time to fill the tummies. We were well equipped with a general map of Taipei and also a more detailed one of Ximending which our hostel kindly provided. On the map are famous areas around our vicinity for your consideration. The staff there also asked what were our plans for our stay and gave us advises and directions to the popular places of interest like jiufen, shifen, shilin etc.

Turn left from the Good9stay building to head to the central of ximending where you can find eateries and yes, Ah Zong mee sua 阿宗面线! Turn right to head towards Watsons and Ximending Metro station exit 6.

Can’t tell you how much love I have for this mee sua. Didn’t quite use to understand how good can a bowl of mee sua be and what’s up with all the ravings. Now I do, I really do!

The intestines are perfectly al dente, with it’s springy and chewy touch. I’m really particular about textures even when it’s simply Maggie mee at home, it must be al dente.

#reallyfussyeater

And I think the intestines are really well done, just the way I like it (:

Photos from subsequent days to make up for the lack of decent photos during our first attempt there due to my camera that broke down ):

Our perfect condiments have to be

-1 spoon of minced garlic

- 1 spoon of chilli

- 2 spoons of vinegar :p

Yes the bf and I love strong flavours. I’m craving for this right now!

We also grabbed a spicy fried chicken from the store 2 stores down and it is pretty decent!

Headed to Long Shan temple, 龍山寺 a few stops away for offerings and also to keep the dad interested in the itinerary :p

The temple is founded in 1736 by Han immigrants from Fujian. These days it is one of the city's top religious sites and a prime venue for exploring both Taiwan's vibrant folk faith and unique temple architecture.