Taipei - Taiwan - Day 6 - 9 Days Backpacking

Day 6

After coming back from Hualien, I seem to feel that I have planned too many days in Taipei. I suppose I should have planned for 2 days at another city. So anyway, these days I set off for places to visit in the late afternoon.

Spent an hour or so at Ximending to do some shopping for friends back home and stopped by the cinema to get a ticket for a midnight show. The price for a show here is much more expensive than back home in Singapore, NT260 (ticket alone) and NT370(with popcorn and drink) or roughly SGD12 and SGD17 respectively. After I made several purchases, I returned to the hotel to put my stuff before heading out to Shinkong Mitsukoshi to change some currency for the next few days. I found out that most major banks and money exchange services do not provide for SGD to NT exchange. Only major currencies are supported for their system, so I suggest anyone visiting to take note, and at least get a VISA/Mastercard/AE for emergencies.



From Shinkong Mitsukoshi, I took a walk to Taipei 101 and took a lot of pictures on the way. Tickets to the indoor observatory costs NT350, and I got mine for NT300 with my youth pass again. Went up on the world's fastest lift and began my sightseeing in the gallery. An audio kit helps in orientating with the directions and major landmarks. After taking numerous pictures here, I proceeded to get a ticket for the outdoor observatory for NT100. At 6pm I went outdoors for the sunset and while waiting, took many pictures yet again. By the time the sun went down, my camera was loaded with pictures and I left at about 8pm after dinner. Spent sometime in the Sinyi area (Taipei 101 Area) and bought a book from Eslite Bookstore which is opened 24 hours. I think that english books are a lot cheaper here than back home in Singapore. Out on the streets, many things were happening. A dog show just ended, there were many baskers on the streets performing and the streets are still crowded at about 10pm. Perhaps because its a saturday, thats why!









Made my way back to the hotel and freshen up before heading out for the show at 11 odd. Finished at 1am and Ximending at night is rather deserted, good thing my hotel was only a 5 mins walk away.