My friend V, who isn’t going with us, was more excited than we were when he heard that we’re visiting Taipei. We rode on his enthusiasm, asking him what we could do there. “A whole lot!” He exclaimed, stamping both his hands down the table. He told us of hiking a mountain within the city for a panoramic evening view of Taipei, about night markets where the best street food can be found, and a whole lot of things we could hardly remember by the time our conversation ended. His passion and love for Taiwan seems to have no bounds. And by the end of our trip, ours became too. We were instant converts.

TAIPEI’S CHIANG KAI-SHEK MEMORIAL HALL

Going to Taiwan is now very easy for Filipino tourists with the new Taiwan visa exemptions for the Philippines. And so it was that a few days before our flight, I jotted down a rough list of places we would visit for our three-day Taipei itinerary. I realized then that it really wouldn’t really be followed, knowing my friends’ waking habits and our very own haphazard way of traveling. It was quite a surprise then that we almost ticked off all the tourist spots I listed down.

 

 

GETTING AROUND TAIPEI VIA MRT

The Taipei Metro or the MRT is the best way to explore the city. It has a total of 108 stations, five main color-coded routes (brown, red, green, orange and blue) running on 131 kilometers of rail. Train day passes are cheap, convenient and readily available at train stations in Taipei. An unlimited one-day pass only costs TWD150.00 (PHP233.45), but for us, we bought their three-day Taipei Metro Pass which sells for TWD380.00 (PHP591.44). Both of these are super worth it, especially if you’re gonna tour around Taipei all day. Trains run from six in the morning up to twelve midnight.

Traversing Taipei’s subway is easier and less confusing compared to those I tried in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Their subways are uber organized, very prompt, has easy to understand maps, has charging stations for gadgets, free umbrellas in case it rains (you just bring them back to any station after using) and polite, rule-abiding citizens. I absolutely love it.

TYPICAL SUBWAY TRAIN IN TAIPEI

MOST OF TAIPEI’S MRT LINES ARE BELOW GROUND

 

 

MOON BRIDGE AT DAHU PARK

  TRAIN STOP: BROWN LINE, DAHU PARK STATION, EXIT 2  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.081086, 121.603503

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When I said almost, this is what I meant. The first place on our Taipei day tour itinerary was the Moon Bridge. And we weren’t able to visit it, lol!

The famous bridge, with a moon-like opening when reflected on the water, is located inside the Dahu Park at Neihu District in Taipei. It is relatively far from the center of the city. The best time to visit it is before sunrise (or maybe at sunset), when the waters are placid and covered with mists. The only problem is going there cheaply, since the MRT only starts at six in the morning. Plus, there’s the oversleeping part, see my Grand Hyatt Taipei review, lol.

UPDATE 2017
On my second trip to Taipei, I was finally able to personally visit the Moon Bridge. Since it’s on the MRT Brown Line, the same train line that has direct link to the bus going to Shifen (which we were gonna visit that same day), we took a quick look (if you consider two hours as a quick look) at the bridge before proceeding to our main destination.

As expected, the Jindai Bridge, more popularly known as the Moon Bridge isn’t as gorgeous nor as breathtaking in real life as the misty photo that has been circulating online. Even then, the park is beautiful on its own. Along with all sorts of birds, there were only a few people walking around during our visit. On the field, a handful of kids were playing football, their parents watching from the sideline. I like how serene and quiet everything was.

The landscape, a combination of grassy fields, interspersed with tree-lined pathways, pretty Chinese gazebos and a massive thirteen-hectare pond, is perfect for people wanting to see a different side of Taipei. The place itself, aside the Moon Bridge, is perfect for that walking-along-a-tree-lined-deserted-park photo ops and selfies.

TAIPEI’S FAMOUS MOON BRIDGE

DAHU PARK ITSELF IS A PRETTY PLACE TO VISIT

THE MOON BRIDGE OVER THE DAHU PARK’S THIRTEEN-HECTARE POND

 

 

DADAOCHENG WHARF & THE OLD TAIPEI DISTRICT

  TRAIN STOP: GREEN LINE, BEIMEN STATION  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.057599, 121.509732

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This is the real first place we visited in Taipei. I asked a friend if he knows an area where we can see the old part of the city and he told me of Dadaocheng. Located in Datong District, it features narrow streets replete with shops selling all sorts of stuff and outdoor food stalls specializing in Taiwanese food.

Dadaocheng is where you would find Dihua Street, the oldest thoroughfare in the whole of Taipei. Walk around and you’d also pass Xia Hai, a Buddhist temple within the area, the Chien-Cheng Cirlce, and lots of graceful old buildings. Along the east side, across the Huanhenanbei Expressway, we visited the Dadaocheng Wharf to rest a bit while taking in the view of the New Taipei City across the Tamsui River.

DIHUA STREET, THE OLDEST STREET IN TAIPEI

SIDEWALKS ARE REPLETE WITH ALL SORTS OF WARES

THE XIA HAI BUDDHIST TEMPLE

RESTED A BIT AT DADAOCHENG WHARF

 

 

THE NORTH GATE & THE CAMERA STREET

  TRAIN STOP: GREEN LINE, BEIMEN STATION  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.047935, 121.511110

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Before proceeding for lunch, we accidentally passed a massive gate near the Beimen Train Station. Apparently, this is one of the three remaining city gates that served as entrances to the old Taipei City Walls. The wall was built in 1884 for protection against warring settlements within the city. Of those remaining gates, only the North Gate retains the original design of the old fortress.

I found my joy not at the gate though, but right behind it at Boa'ai Road, Taipei’s Camera Street! Along these area, camera shops abound. It was heaven! Prices are a bit lower than mall prices in Manila, but are about on par or a tad lower with camera shops at Quiapo’s Hidalgo Street.

TAIPEI’S NORTH GATE OR BEIMEN

THE CAMERA STREET AT TAIPEI

 

 

XIMENDING, SHOPPING & FOOD TRIP

  TRAIN STOP: BLUE OR GREEN LINE, XIMEN STATION, EXIT 6  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.042514, 121.507858

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With our stomachs protesting, we headed over to Ximending for a round of food trip and shopping. The area is the first pedestrianized street in Taipei and is hailed as the Harajuku and Shibuya of Taipei. And indeed, I can see why they dub it as such, I can definitely feel the Tokyo vibe of this place.

While a couple of my friends went shopping at the newly opened five-storey H&M building, said to be the biggest of its kind in Asia, we traversed the length of Hanzhong Street, dodging tourists and locals alike as we bought cheap Taiwanese street food while shopping along the numerous curious shops fronting the road. My friend V was definitely right, Taipei has the best street food!

XIMENDING SHOPPING DISTRICT

JAPAN FEELS

A STINKY TOFU HAWKER

XIMENDING WALKING STREET

 

 

CHIANG KAI SHEK MEMORIAL HALL & SQUARE

  TRAIN STOP: RED OR GREEN LINE, CHIANG KAI-SHEK MEMORIAL HALL STATION, EXIT 5  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.036149, 121.518703

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We nearly wrote off the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall from our list. We thought it would be just another park with Taiwanese structures within. Well, it is a park with Taiwanese structures within, but on a massive scale. The memorial was built in 1980 to commemorate, who else, but Chiang Kai-shek, China’s celebrated former president.

The complex is composed of the Freedom Square Memorial Arch gate, Taipei’s National Concert Hall, the National Theater, and finally the Memorial Hall. Elevated on 89 steps representing Chiang Kai-shek’s age at the time of his death, the structure is even more gargantuan when viewed up close. All four structures are colossal in size, even the square itself is huge!

The best time to visit the square is right before sunset, see it with the light of the day and watch it glow as evening descends. We actually planned to go there right after visiting Ximending, but our friends took a while shopping so we relegated it for a sunset vist during our final day. A blessing in disguise.

FREEDOM SQUARE MEMORIAL ARCH

GOING UP THE MEMORIAL HALL

IMPRESSIVE HALL, INDEED

TAIPEI’S NATIONAL THEATER AND THE FREEDOM ARCH

 

 

HIKE TO ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN

  TRAIN STOP: RED LINE, XIANSHAN STATION  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.027349, 121.570851

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Already panting from exhaustion, we still pushed ahead with the final plan for the day, a hike to Taipei’s Elephant Mountain to see the city 375 meters above the ground. We started off a bit early, about 3:30PM, since we knew we’d be quite slow, our energy almost depleted from walking around all day. Plus, the sun sets quite early, around 5:00PM, in this part of the world.

The hiking trail starts from the end of the Red Line MRT Station, a twenty minute walk around a quiet neighborhood then the limitless steps to the Elephant Mountain view deck. A red structure, the Ling Yun Temple, would let you know you’re at the Elephant steps.

From the signs we saw, it says that it would take about twenty minutes to reach the top of the steps. But we more than doubled the time, pausing numerous times to catch our breath and the view of the city from up high. We passed two view decks before finally reaching the top one.

Was it worth the arduous climb up? The sunset, even though not directly in line with the urban sprawl of Taipei, was breathtakingly beautiful. But it even gets better as evening fell, the buildings all lighted up and glimmering against the night sky.

STEPS UP TO ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN VIEW DECK

TAIPEI CITY AWASH IN SUNSET COLORS

THE TAIPEI URBAN SPRAWL

THE BEST PLACE TO SEE TAIPEI 101 AT NIGHT

 

 

TAIPEI 101

  TRAIN STOP: RED LINE, TAIPEI 101 WORLD TRADE CENTER STATION  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.034054, 121.564507

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Before going back for dinner, we should’ve dropped by the city’s icon, the Taipei 101. It ruled the Earth as the tallest building back in 2004, stealing Petronas Towers’ thunder, but it has now been ousted by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. No matter, it is still magnificent, especially at night. The building is just one stop by train from the Elephant Mountain. Don’t be like us, drop by for a few minutes, your dinner can wait.

THE SECOND TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD, THE TAIPEI 101

 

 

TAIPEI SHILIN NIGHT MARKET, DINNER & MORE SHOPPING

  TRAIN STOP: RED LINE, JIANTAN STATION , EXIT 1  • GPS COORDINATES MAP: 25.088148, 121.525260

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To reward ourselves for a job well done, we decided to pig out on one the many night markets in Taipei. The city has at least twenty night markets that I know of, and during our entire stay, we were able to visit only three! One of the most famous of these is the Shilin Night Market. We were told this is one of the most affordable night markets, and we definitely agree! Our rice meal only cost us about TWD90.00 (PHP140.00), enough spare cash to go around shopping and a spree of street food binging! And oh yeah, Taiwan Beer until midnight too!

WEEKEND CROWD AT SHILIN NIGHT MARKET

FOOD IS RELATIVELY CHEAP AT NIGHT MARKETS

FINALLY, AFTER ALL THAT WALKING, IT’S TIME FOR BEER