25 Jan 13
Just some pictures for this post. Pictures of mammoth monuments. Let’s start with these – One’s the National Concert Hall and the other is the National Theatre, I forgot which is which because they look identical.
Below is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It’s in the same compound as the monuments above.
On a different day, we popped by the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. There’s two of him.
After witnessing the change of military guards (quite lucky huh!), we walked towards Taipei 101.
I did go up to the Observatory Deck which is at the 89th floor. I wouldn’t urge anyone to, if you’re considering. It’s prettier looking up at it than looking down from up there.
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, nikon FM10, Taipei guide
21 Jan 13
Jiufen is pretty synonymous with tourists visiting Taipei, it’s an hour away from the city so that makes it a nice half-day trip. I thought I’d share how to get there on your own as opposed to joining a tour. First, get yourself to Taipei Railway Station! It is linked to Taipei Main Station on the MRT.
Next, train tickets. Skip the queue and head straight for the ticket machines. We are getting tickets to get to Ruifang. Because the train schedules only show the start and end point of each line, you won’t find Ruifang anywhere on the board/machines. What we did was to get help from the staff (wearing red vests in the photo) to help us. Ticket prices vary depending on which type of train (allocated seats or free seating) and also the timing. We went with the earliest slot that could accomodate all four of us which turned out to be the free seating type.
Sorry to get wordy here but as one who does a lot of research before travelling, I appreciate little notes here and there that would make a small difference. You can eat & drink on the train so if breakfast is something you had to miss to catch a train, there’s a lot of food you can buy in the station for your journey. One other thing is there are many trains moving off from the same platform your train departs from. So double check the time stamp on the screen and triple check with the train conductor cos we almost boarded the wrong train.
Getting to Ruifang takes about 55 minutes. The train emerges from underground pretty quickly so there’s a view for the most part. Exit Ruifang Station and here, we’re gonna get on a bus. Once outside, look across the street, spot the WELLCOME sign. The buses pick up passengers headed to Jiufen/Jinguashi/Keelung there. The buses clearly state their destinations so hop on the ones that say JIUFEN. A one-way ride is NT$15.
The bus ride takes about 15 minutes, slowly climbing up winding roads.
So at Jiufen, there’s a lot of eating and drinking to do. The market was pretty packed but in a good-energy kind of way.
We did some tea tasting.
Ate this unusual combination of grated peanuts & ice cream wrapped in popiah skin.
Now the journey back to Taipei is about the same, take a bus back to Ruifang, get train tickets from Ruifang Station back to Taipei Railway Station. The only thing to note is the bus stop to wait for a bus heading back to Ruifang is different. See the 7-11 in the photo below? That’s at the mouth of the market. Walk up the hill and you’ll see a bus stop, that’s the one you want to be at.
That about wraps up Jiufen. From Jiufen, you can also continue to Pingxi and Shifen by train. Pingxi for sky lanterns and Shifen to see the Shifen Waterfall.
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, Jiufen, nikon FM10, Taipei guide
16 Jan 13
Been quiet here but I’m jumping right into my first instalment of What I Loved about Taipei!
Simple Market happens every Sunday afternoon. The venue is, can I say, perfect? The market area is in between two rows of shophouses. Occupying one of the shophouses is Good Cho’s, a cafe/shop/mini art gallery/ice cream parlour all in one. I get the idea that they are the same people behind Simple Market.
I didn’t get to eat there. I eyed a few things that were perfect for gifts then ultimately got carried away by my own excitement. Cute packs of tea, funky pairs of socks, locally made honey. After getting a latte, we headed outside to comb the market.
There aren’t many stalls but you do get the sense that it’s a tightly curated selection of vendors. Each one had something unique to offer, no two were the same. I got these lovely origami crane fabric brooches. That’s my folks, Jean – my brother’s girlfriend – and Ben in their own nook (up) there.
I particularly loved these grassy slopes where people sat around with their friends.
So much so that I had to climb up one of them myself! Thanks Simple Market for existing, it was such a pleasure. To Michelle too, for sharing her find.
Simple Market is located at Xinyi Public Assembly Hall
54 Songqin Street, Xinyi District
Sundays, 1 – 7pm
p.s. totally walkable from Taipei 101
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, nikon FM10, Taipei guide
3 Jan 13
Ah, 2013.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you guys for reading, for leaving uplifting words every now and then, for being internet friends. Also, there are some of you who left tips for Taipei, they were wonderful suggestions and I tried to go to most of them – so, thank you!
This year is gonna be different for me, whether I’m ready for it or not. The past five years, Ben & I have been working together as Hex. Late last year he moved on to building apps and most recently, been working hard on Sendy. Making it better and better. So this leaves me with an open door, a lot of spare time on my hands, not quite sure what I’m gonna do next. I have some ideas but everything seems scary.
I know every day people embark on new journeys, take on new challenges. I’ve probably read more failures-turned-into-success stories in 2012 than any point in my life… Fell for one too many inspiring-quotes-turned-into-pretty-typography-posters. Now it’s up to me. Power and Love to all and may 2013 be better, in every way possible, for you and for me.
Psssst, I took these pictures at Penny University – a coffee place – and I really enjoyed their latte!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, nikon FM10, Penny University
25 Dec 12
Dropping in to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, benjamin sheares bridge, nikon FM10
