Taiwan F&E

[raindrop]

Hi,

i will be going to taiwan on a 7D package tour next month.

can anybody advise roughly how much taiwan dollar i will need to change to cover expenses like 2 meals (cos' the rest of the meals are already catered for in the package) + buying back some tidbits for my family/frens?

 

[deathstar]

Hey,

I just came back from taiwan last week...

to be continued~~~

 

[marilyn_chh]

hi all,
me too.. got back yesterday night..it was such a tiring trip..hahah..cos we shop so much and jalan so much..it's really not advisable for the elders to go free and easy mann..

it was quite a disapponiting trip for us cos it ran through out my whole trip!

went there 8 days and it rain 6 days! their rain is clazy mann!! acually may and june is their rainy period called the " mei2 yu3 ji4" and it rain from morning till night - non stop! no wonder the air-ticket is slightly cheaper during this period..

my whole itinerary kinda mess up because of that. we were drench from head to toe when touring "yeh liu" ..hhaha..ad my hat flew off because of strong wind...how unlucky!

 

[marilyn_chh]

pink,
it was kinda hot yesterday before we came back..something like singapore..it's one of the 2 days we could enjoy the sunshine..

you can check out the taipei weather in the net. we thought it was hot in taipei so end up bringing thin clothing and shorts. and when we were there it rained cats and dogs! the weather was cooling but the rain dampened our moods..

i think 6 days is enough if u just go to taipei. we stayed at kilin hotel..need to walk 10-15 minutes to the nearest "Long Shan" MRT. Better to stay at Cosmos which is next to Taipei Main Station. The rate offered by Chan brothers is SGD178 per nite for triple if i'm not mistaken. so twin room could be slighty cheaper.

kilin is located downtown..it's located among rows of shophouses and the shophouses were all pretty old and the walkway a bit dirty.. even our geylang area is better than them..

nonetheless the room, toilet, pillows and bedsheet are clean and comfortable...but the door is not sound proof..can practically hear people talking outside the bedroom. sometimes when people knock the door next to ours, it was as if thy're knocking on ours..i overheard a hongkee mentioning her ordeal of opening her door and seeing no one and freaked out..hahaha...the walkway to the hotel room smell old too..we chose this hotel cos we couldn't get cosmos and wanted a hotel that provide clean room and toilet.

another hotel which is quite popular cos of the location is "rainbow hotel". It's located right in the heart of ximenting which is one of the prime shopping area. But the hotel look old and small too..think it's even smaller than kilin hotel.

i went to quite a number of shopping places ie taipei main station (underground mall), xi menting, shilin night market, raohe night market, wu fen pu and huaxi night market.

the shoes at raohe night market is the cheapest! got a few pair for less than SGD10 or 15! these shoes you can find them in our far east plaza which could be selling at around SGD25+
the undergraound mall is also quite cheap compared to ximenting and shlin market..Do check it out. For clothing, go to wu fen pu. It's a wholesale market for ladies wear.. the fashion now is kinda retro.. a lot of shops selling short jacket/cardigan in funky colors! all sort of spagetthi tops, funky pants, skirts and tops.You will find similar things in shilin and xi menting but the prices are at least NT100 or NT200 (SGD5 or 10) more the same design.

never try the fried oyster at shilin market..it's gross man...very starcy!! the must try food is their ice kacang called "xue3 hua1 bing" (snowflake) and "xian2 su4 ji1" (nugget chicken).

 

[susany]

I was in the same trip as Marilyn but different hotel and left 1 day earlier.

Wah Marilyn, what a long diary .. thot u're on MC today leh .. so, the weather was good in Monday lah .. I think Zann didn't go to work but I'm strong, I'm able to go to the office, he he he

Our Hotel named Emperor Hotel, hotel room quite big, no noise and quite comfortable lah .. 6 minutes walking distance to Zhongshan MRT, accessible to many buses.

Bought a lot of cheap fashion bags/carriers @ DanShui - I like this place the most, the bag costs about only S$2.60/piece.

I bought few pairs of shoes from the Underground Mall @ NT$100 (abt S$5). Maternity dresses from Shilin Market @ S$15/piece.

Marilyn, the 'wet' preserved plums very nice leh .. should buy more. The fish crackers sold at DanShui also very nice, also should buy more, he he he

I like the Snowflake & Chicken Fillet too ..

like Marilyn said, we were really soaking in the rain at YehLiu but it's worth the memory.

 

[marilyn_chh]

susan,
wah, u really got good deal there. SGD2.60 for a bag??

too bad that i din go to danshui "lao3 jie1" . went to fisherman wharf instead. Not bad

pink,
i think there's a typo error. Should be "yan2 shu4 ji1" (chicken nuggets).

 

[susany]

Marilyn, u didn't show me the video of Fisherman Wharf leh .. going there was our initial plan but after seeing that there're many things around the DanSui Old Street and the night market, we changed our mind to Fisherman Wharf .. yeah, this particular shop selling bags at NT$50.

Zann and I find staying at Dragon East Hotel is not so bad too, near to HsimenDin MRT.

 

[smurfy]

mrc/susan,

I also bot 3 bags from that shop at danshui. NT50 per bag only.. very cheap..

We walked 1 hr from danshui to fisherman wharf (very boliao), then took the ferry back. Think we are the only one who walked.

Love the clothes at wu fen pu, but too bad didn't bring enough cash to buy more.

Susan,
Did you try the "ah ge" and fishball soup at danshui? suppose to be their specialty food, Jetstar asia ever feature these food in their show.

 

[marilyn_chh]

smurfy,
aiyoh, u and susan make me so regret not visiting danshui lao3 jie1 leh..heheh

and i must salute you for walking to fisherman wharf! quite a distance even when taking bus

do you think you would want to visit taipei for a 2nd time? i already started thinking abt it.. just don't feel shiok not able to visit some of the jin3 dian3

 

[marilyn_chh]

susan,
actually can't see much at fisherman wharf cos it's raining..the place very quiet..some of the shops not even open. if not raining, it's a very romantic place..

we went to eat at this restaurant with live performance.. the singer is quite good

and the food quite nice also. my MIl like their dory fillet.. but a bit pricy though for taiwan standard. think we paid around SGD50+ in total.

 

[smurfy]

hi mrc,

ya, think i'll visit danshui again if i go.. i'll give ximending a miss cos the things there are expensive.

ya, actually wanted to wait for sunset at danshui, heard its very beautiful, so we got all the time to walk to fisherman wharf. Actually I enjoy walking, helps to burn off the food i ate everyday but I am running a terrible flu that day. So we didn't wait till sunset. Hubby said go back hotel to rest.

ya, me also thinking about going back to taiwan already. Love the clothes, shoes and hot springs!! Hot springs is good for my ezcema too. My sis going in Aug, dunno want to join her or not. We also didn't visit some of the places like Yeh Liu, though we did visit Wulai (near to jian tian).

Lucky during my days there, didn't rain at all.

 

[pebbie]

hi cherly,

can u provide me with the contacts for your guide too?

my email is:[email protected]
thks!!

 

[susany]

Smurfy, i can't remember the shop name but it has 2-3 storeys and we had the stuffed tanghoon beancurd and foo-chow fishball soup at the upper floor. Must be this shop lah because it was very packed.

About 30mins after eating this, we had a bowl of Hainan Dien-Dien Mien, wow, also very nice leh.

Had a lot of makan everyday, eating non-stop .. the bags sold at NT50 really cheap hoh ..

Wanted to go for the Beitou Hot Spring but raining non-stop leh ..

I bought a Mickey face bag @ NT160 (after bargained) from XimenDing and I saw the same one from Shilin Market which sold @ NT300++ ..

Marilyn, luckily we put Shilin Market as our last shopping area - things r really more expensive there.

feel tempting in going again - surely must go to DanShui again .. then can travel to outer part like HuaLien/Kaoshiung ...

 

[smurfy]

Hi Susan,

ya, the tanghoon beancurd is what they called "ah ge". There is alot of shops in danshui that sells ah ge and fishball soup. Think the one we had is different from yours. But still thinks its nice lar.. we didn't have any noodles.

The bags are too cheap, so was quite hesitating whether to buy initially but finally bot 3 for gifts to friends.

The hot springs at Sweetme is indoor one.. the one i have is inside my room, so very convenient to dip. We dipped 4 times during our one night stay there... hehee... to make our $$ worth.. very good for my skin

I didn't buy anything at all from shilin market, only eat there..

me also very tempted to go again. My hubby wants to go Taroko Gorge at Hualien next time

 

[smurfs]

Hi smurfy,

How much did you pay for a night of accomodation in Sweetme?

 

[smurfy]

hi bianchi,

Sorry for the late reply. We pay US$180nett, inclusive of one night stay and breakfast for 2.

 

[pebsb]

Hi everyone!
I'm also planning a F&E trip to Taipei - been reading on all your useful tips.
Besides shopping, food & hotspring, anything else to do in Taipei eg lasik, instant teeth whitening?

Besides SQ, Jetstar Asia, Eva & China Airline - any other plane that goes direct to Taipei? Which one has best value & timing?

Any idea where I can buy cheap books & music/CD?

Smurfy - yr hotspring is indoor ah? Can see out of the room (see thru ceiling/wall to scenery)? I dont want to get tan leh, so I should go to those indoor type instead of outdoor?

 

[susany]

Wah Smurfy, your private hotspring sounds very enjoying, he he he .. yeah, the tanghoon beancurd is called Ah Ger .. we didn't have noodles too .. as we walk along to any place, we'll (hubby & I) share our food, so that we can try all sorts of food along the way.

Pebs, so far Eva offers the best value for money, like u see, we took the package of S$499 (ticket & 3 nites accommodation inc of breakfast) and we paid extra of S$110/nite for the extension stay. We stayed for 6 nights in Taipei and still not enough to explore all places.

As for good and cheap books, the best place would be at Bookshop Street, located outside of Taipei Main Station.

My colleague just mentioned 'siau-ren-guo' and it's in Taipei .. eemm .. didn't had the chance to go leh ..

 

[smurfy]

hi pebs,
ya, my hotspring indoor private one but not very big.. just alright for 2 person. Not much scenary unless you are daring enough to draw up the bamboo curtains see my attached pics

hi susan,
did you try the egg ice cream too? quite nice, especially during the hot weather

 

[susany]

Smurfy, wow your private hot spring superb lah .. so tempting to try .. really suit as a honeymoon suite, hoh ..

haiyo, no one recommended me to try egg ice-cream leh .. does it have egg smell? what about the flavour available?

 

[smurfy]

susan,
ya, its very comfortable... bed is very comfortable and there is about 100 TV channels available

the egg ice-cream doesn't have egg smell but shaped like an egg... cannot rem the flavours .. it is quite tasteful without the creamy taste like those in Singapore.

 

[pebsb]

smurfy - yr room v cosy! but im going w a girlfriend, not my BF, so not sure if she's shy abt it..but we'll both wear swimwear lar..hah

Susan - thanks, will check out those bookstores. Oh my gf say that SIA is having promo now to Taipei. Gotta check it out! Jetstar timing to Taipei no good, but return is good (late). How about Eva timing?
6 days not enough? where did you go? can share your itinery? Am only intending to spend 5D4N in Taipei. Thanks!

 

[susany]

Pebs, 4 nites not enough lah, do u know that Pebs, yeah, my hubby bought a book from Bookstreet Shop and he claimed that the books sold there are really cheap as most of the Chinese written are published there. The original VCDs are cheap too, bought a Godzilla VCD and cost us about S$3.60.

Taipei has a lot of Night Markets? And also their Underground Mall is long. I was like you initially thinking that going there for 6 nights will be too long and only spending our days in Taipei but now, realizing that it's not enough!!

Via EVA, we took the 1.10pm flight from SIN, arriving TPE @ 5.30pm and for the return, we took the 7.40am from TPE, arriving SIN @ 12noon.

Smurfy, I missed that egg ice-cream lah ... if i ever go again next time, mustn't give this a miss!

oh yeah, Marilyn helped me to change the currency to Taipei Dollar and found out that money changers @ Sembawang r offering good rates. We got it at 18.95.

 

[pebsb]

Susan - care to share the places u went to for 7D6N? U stayed at Dragon East rite? How is it? Clean, convenient, safe, with shopping downstairs? MRC said that Rainbow hotel is quite small, so am considering dragon east - both quite near each other..U booked both airline & hotel thru agency?

My fren & I plannig to book hotel online. Any recommendation for good sites? Am looking at Rainbow/East Dragon/Cosmos.

 

[pebsb]

Hi ladies, Its finally Friday! Can you pls recommend good buys from Taipei? I know that ladies clothes, food/tit-bits, books & CDs are good buys? How about wedding favors & household decor stuff? Would Bangkok be better for those?
Thanks!

 

[marilyn_chh]

Hi Pebs,
Think susan stayed Emperor hotel and not east dragon. I strongly recommend Cosmos cos it's extremely convenient and the hotel look better from outside than any hotel you mentioned..hahah...

i think BKK is a better place to get wedding favours and household decor compared to taiwan. What kind of wedding favours or household decor you're looking for?

 

[pebsb]

Marilyn, I must have misread Oops. Anyway I've booked Flowers hotel. Let's hope its ok. Will feedback after my trip in July..heh

No specific W favors or hh decor in mind. If I see something I like, i buy

 

[susany]

Pebs, let me recall what we've gone thru in Tpe.
1st day - Departing fm SIN-TPE, just walk-around to those shops nearby to our hotel as it was already and still raining heavily.

2nd day - went to National Palace Museum, spent like about 3 hours there .. Y museum, becoz those antiques/artifacts were 'stole' from China and still being kept in TW.

then to LongShan Temple, from there walked to HuaXi Street Tourist Nite Market.

then to XimenDing - like SIN Orchard/Suntec area where Dragon East/Rainbow Hotel is located.

3rd Day - went to Miramar Entertainment Park for ferry-wheel riding

went to Metro Underground Mall

then to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

then to Taipei 101

4th Day - went to Taipei Underground Mall

then to Bookshop street

then to Gongguan Nite Market

5th Day - went to CKS Memorial Hall

then to Confucious Temple

then to Matyr's Shrine for the guard changing ceremony at every hour

then to Dan Shui

6th Day - chartered a van, together with Marilyn & family and another couple to Jiu Fen & Yeh Liu

then to Shilin Nite Market

7th Day - leaving Tpe-SIN


Perhaps Marilyn can share hers too, she has gone to Alishan & soaked herself in Beitou Hot Spring.

Our activities were quire restricted due to heavy downpour throughout the whole week.

I booked my promo package thru www.j3travel.com

 

[fat_pooh]

hi everybody,

I am going to Taiwan in Sep for my honeymoon,still thinking whether to go wulai or beitou for hot spring,any advice?

 

[leibit]

Hi here!

I'll be going to Taiwan Taipei next week. Will like to seek help from u all here......

Heard so much abt Danshui, the food n things over there. Must i go in the morn, noon or evening?

As for the Shihlin Night Market, do i alight at JianTan or Shihlin MRT station? Coz i got a Taipei map fr my in-laws n it was stated as Shihlin Food Market at JianTan Stn, n my in-laws insisted that was only a food centre, whereas Shihlin Mrt stn is the real night mkt????

Thanks so much in advance!!!!!!

 

[smurfy]

Pricilla,

Wulai hotspring don't have sulphur smell but is inconvenient. Beitou is very convenient, being assessible by MRT but the water does have abit of sulphur smell. Its not as bad as you think, the smell is very slight only.

Hi Leibit,
Can go danshui afternoon to evening time cos heard that the sunset is beautiful.

For shihlin food and night market, should be at JianTan stn. They are not very far from each other.

 

[susany]

Leibit, Smurfy is right .. Danshui is best go during evening, don't forget to visit the Danshui Old Street and grab some cheap bags from the only stall there selling bags/wallets. The fish crackers (abt NT50/packet) are worth to buy too, very delicious. Yup, Shilin night market is from JianDan station.

 

[pebsb]

Susan, thanks for the itinery. Will def come in useful when I plan my trip.

 

[marilyn_chh]

leibit,
to be more precise, shilin food market (the one in-laws mentioned) is located just opposite jiantan mrt. The shilin night market (selling clothes, trinkets, shoes, etc) is next to the food market (so, it's still jiantan MRT)..

If you go during weekends, u'll see a lots of youngsters making their way to the night market (pasar malam). Just follow the crowd..

But i suggest u makan at the food market 1st then, make ur way to shop at the pasar malam..

 

[leibit]

GREAT Thanx Smurfy, Susan n Marilyn!!!!

Now i've a better idea on how to plan my itinerary liao

Lookg very much 4ward to my trip, coz saw u gals happily recountg ur trip days in Taiwan

Prayg for no rain tho.....

 

[marilyn_chh]

leibit,
No problem

Drop me a PM if you're interested to see my Taipei photos and also my itinerary too

 

[anne]

Marilyn and Susan, after the TW trip..u gals really come here to pump idea of places to the rest ler..very good hor

How I wish I can go again this week..Brandon got upgraded to suite room in his hotel stay

 

[taurus]

hi mrc,

care to share wif me your taipei photos &itinerary? my email is [email protected]

i m at a lost! planning to go taiwan in jul. hv not been there before. dunno should i join the tour group or go F&E. what do u think? actually wanted to go HK but my fren stronly recommend me to go taiwan as she said that taiwan is better than HK. anyway, I hv been to HK for 3 times liao...

thanks for ur advice..

 

[susany]

Anne, good things are meant to be shared .. wah, Brandon got upgraded room ah .. really good lah

Taurus, I've been to HK, still prefer Tpe, suggest Free & Easy for travelling around Taipei area but to join tour for outskirt areas.

 

[anne]

Susan, y I din see u in our regular thread?
Ya..he got upgraded room to suite wor..what a waste that it falls on my tight schedule week..somemore boss on biz trip to Germany

 

[anne]

Oh ya, weather in Taipei is clear!
Currently they have world 2nd largest Computer Fair in Taipei.

 

[leibit]

Hi Susan, u mean there's only 1 shop sellg bags n wallets in Danshui? Then what do the others sell???

I heard Danshui has tie3dan4. Anyone tried them b4?

Btw, gals, is Danshui Old Street very near the mrt stn? I.e. will i see the shops fr the stn i get out?

Tot of buying mp3 players over there, wondering is it cheaper to get 1GB kind, n hopefully colors like mini ipod heehee...

Yah....i've been monitoring the weather daily fr
http://www.cwb.gov.tw/V4e/index.htm on TPE weather

 

[leibit]

Thx Marilyn for the offer!

I'll plan mine 1st n pm u if i really at a loss, lest i get confused by wanting to go n conquer too many areas. I only hv 4D3N in TPE, so to be exact only 2 full days there.

 

[anne]

Leibit, dan shui famous of tie-dan, salted egg and century egg. Infact, the famous one is the one opp dan shui habour which they called pa1-li2(sound like Paris in mandarin)

 

[marilyn_chh]

leibit,
i tried tie3dan4! but that's from 7-eleven shop nearby our hotel..hehe..it's really hard loh but then the taste is nice

taurus,
sure. You check your email in a short while ok? if you go F&E be prepared to walk a lot!! We walked until our sole painful, hips and thigh aching!

So, towards the end, we took cab almost everywhere..haha..we only went out off taipei to alishan..that's it..the rest of our trip, we went around taipei..taipei alone has a lot of scenic places..

 

[leibit]

Anne, is the danshui harbour same as yuren matou? Fisherman's wharf?

Marilyn, must break the eggshells to eat or not?? Haha....how's the cab fare like, compared to Spore?

 

[susany]

Leibit, so far, only discovered 1 shop selling wallets/bags and a big price sign of NT50. Next to a shop selling assorted preserved plums. Many types of shops ler - clothing, food, etc ..

Fisherman's wharf is further up from the MRT station of Dan Shui.

Only 2 full days in Taipei .. then u must really get up very early in the morning, the day gets brighten by 5am but those shops will not b opened till at a later time.

 

[anne]

Leibit, it is opp direction of fisherman's wharf. The place call pa-li. I think is not a tourist place..but if u take the boat ride fr danshui cross over, then u shd be able to see..along the street they r selling all the tie-dan and salted egg. tie-dan without shell one.

 

[anne]

Susan, when u guys there the day also brighten at 5am ah! Brandon just told me that he got a shock on the first day, 4.40am he saw sunlight coming into his hotel room. He wake up and take a look of the time..he thought he missed his alarm clock..haha

 

[taurus]

hi mrc,

recd ur mail liao. thanks so much for sharing wif me. think i most probably confirm goin taiwan instead of hk liao...

besides the shilin & raohe nite market & ximenting, where is good for shopping? fisher wharf (yu ren ma tou) is it worth goin? what do they have there? if i join tour group go sightseeing, got time to shop or not? is there any free time on our own?

thanks!!