[ cherlosophy ]

Taipei Day 3

For the 3rd day, we decided to visit Hands Tai Lung over in Breeze Centre. This shop sells a wide array of skincare and makeup products that Kristabel loves; but sadly, nothing in the shopping centres come cheap.

The shopping centres there open at around 11am, so don't bother going early. We had to stone at the nearby 7-11 til the shops opened.

Directions :
Nearest MRT - Zhongxiao Fuxing

Next we headed off to the Hello Kitty Cafe over in Da An Rd!
Wah.. happy leh!

Directions :
Nearest MRT - Zhongxiao Fuxing
Walk left away from Sogo to the intersection of Da An and Zhongxiao East
You will pass a NET shop (Taiwan's answer to Gap)
Once you see the a pink glittery signboard, turn into lane
You won't miss the shop

Address:
No 90, Da An, Sec 1
Tel : 2711-1132

Reservations are essential unless you arrive near opening time at 11.30am. We reached around 11.45pm and it was full by 12.30pm.

Anyway, the whole place sent shivers down my spine with Hello Kitty madness. I soooo like! *does a kitty dance*

We chose to have the set meal (NT400) which consisted of a soup, a main course, a drink and a piece of cake. I had the spagetti with meat sauce with a surprisingly delightful yolk (check out the ooze!!), while Kristabel had the spagetti with clams and white wine sauce.

Our Drinks!

The dessert that came with the set is the smaller one. We could not resist ordering another since the cakes looked so damn good. In total, we paid NT520 each for the meal with translates to appprox SGD20+.

Yummmmmmmmmmo...!

Even the toilet could not escape Hello Kitty's influence!

After lunch, we headed to the Miniature Museum near Nanjing East MRT. It houses Asia's largest collection of miniatures. Entrance fee of NT180. Opens from 10am-6pm.

Directions :
Nearest MRT - Nanjing East MRT
(which is a light rail, similar to our LRT)

Exit near Brother Hotel. In the middle of the road in front of the hotel, take any bus that goes to Chungshan Girls High School stop (straight down road)

We tried to find the right bus but the typhoon winds was super strong and nearly blew Kristabel away. She had to cling onto the bus stop for dear life. So we ended up cabbing (Taxis are known affectionately as Xiao Huang or Small Yellow) to the place, paying NT80 for the fare.

Everything in the museum was so tiny!

I'll share with you some of my faves! They're simply jaw dropping!

Gulliver's Travel - seen here in the land of Lilliput

Sushi anyone?!

A street scene during the Japanese Occupation

Another street scene during the Japanese Occupation

More Hello Kitty!!!

Then we went to Taipei 101, an obligatory stop for any self respecting tourist visiting Taipei. Since the prices in the shopping centres are really steep, we didn't bother to roam the shopping centres much.

Directions :
Nearest MRT - Taipei City Hall
Exit MRT and turn right towards bus stop.
There's a free shuttle bus (with english & mandarin commentary)

The amount of people is proportionate to the amount of savings you get.

The entrance to the viewing gallery on the 5th floor. Entrance fee of NT400 allows you access to the 89th floor and the 88th floor (to view the wind damper) and an optional extra NT100 allows you to go up to the 91st floor for an unblocked view (weather permitting)

The viewing gallery on the 89th floor

We went at 5.30pm so we could catch both the day and night views. Pity the day proved to be hazy, else we would have caught clearer shots.

Taipei at night is especially beautiful. In the 1st picture, you can even see the Miramar Ferris Wheel in the distance.

Taking the free shuttle bus back to the MRT station, we headed to Wu Fen Pu wholesale centre to check out the bargains that people often raved about. Inititally, I had my doubts on being able to get anything there but once we reached, it's magical powers managed to suck every penny out.

Do buy the item you want if the price appeals to you cause it is difficult to navigate your way back to the particular shop. We bought bags for NT550, belts went for NT280, while shirts ranged from NT350-650. Tee shirts were the cheapest though. 1 for NT200, 2 for NT300 and 4 for NT500.