Taipei in a Day. Due to logistics and time constraint, I made it a point to catch a clear glimpse of Taipei all in a day! It involves a lot of taxi rides, train rides, walking, more walking and extreme walking - hahahaha! I got three items that I must do - Eat, Night Market Shopping, & Eat - and all three were "checked" (yeah! :D) This is the One Day Taipei Itinerary should you catch yourself in the same situation... *_*

Good thing we arrived Taipei around 6ish the night before. We hurriedly deposited our luggage in the hotel and made our way to Taipei 101 - the tallest building in Taiwan & in the world (proclaimed 2004). The mall beneath it reminds me KLCC in Kuala Lumpur - gleaming floors, premium brands, posh interiors. Similarly, KLCC also houses the Petronas Twin Tower above it! :) Taipei 101 view deck is accessed through the 6th floor of the mall. After getting our tickets, we queued for the world's most advanced elevator! Check out below.



The Observatory Deck was very spacious and cool. The night view was exceptional as there are bright lights greeting us as we circled the 360 degree space using a "talking guide tour" remote. Main roads, smaller roads, car's flood lights reflections, bridges, building's neon logos, street lights, goes to show us how alive the city is notwithstanding the felt vibrancy of Taipei from our 250m or so high view. The view also reminds me of my Bungee (Macao 230m high) Experience - makes me shiver all over again! :D We took the last few flights of stairs to the highest point accessible to the public at 390m high or 91 floors up!

After feeling ourselves being gravitated down (hahaha went down already by this time), we are ready for taste authentic Taiwan Shabu Shabu. The restaurant was again located at a second floor of a nondescript building that everyone seems to know about (see 3AM Dimsum post). Good thing my aunt made reservations and they are readily waiting for our group to arrive. Unlike other shabu place I've been, this one serves you individually and lets you pick your choice of soup base, main entree, noodle/rice, "balls", drinks, & dessert. See what I pick! :D










Zzzzzzzz......


Morning breakfast at the hotel was a surprisingly pleasant meal (yes, bad hotel bfast experiences). The warm (take note, not hot) congee with the small plate toppings was too cute to devour!



With a full stomach, we started the day with a visit to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park where we witnessed the changing of guards - cool! They got acts and moves that I've never seen before in soldier formations. Since the mall area are a few blocks away, we decided to walk & take in more of Taipei's morning rush. I spotted some nice things like...


Our target destination is the new Sogo Mall where the first Din Tai Fung mall based restaurant is located. Not surprisingly, there is a queue. I've read blogs & stories of the long line this restaurant commands that sometimes guests just give up waiting! Good thing, our aunt was super kind to arrive earlier and got us a number already.


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