The Diurnal Owl

As I write this post, the whole world is battling against the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To prevent the spread of this disease, people from all over the world have been instructed to stay at home and do social distancing. In the Philippines, classes and work (except in the health and food industries) have already been suspended. The whole island of Luzon is under enhanced community…

I have always been so conscious about my body. Maybe it is safe to say that we all at least once experienced to be very mindful of how we look. Caring so much about how other people see us or think of us can affect our confidence. Perhaps it starts at puberty. It is normal for adolescents to feel a little bit uncomfortable as their bodies go through change. However, carrying on with having that…

In the last quarter of 2017, I went through a tough time. It was so tough that I became scared about my mental health. Ever since then, I became an advocate of spreading mental health awareness. But even with all my efforts, my limitations as a human cost me someone I love.

On May 12, 2018, I lost a friend to depression.

My friend,

You crossed my mind just two weeks before you passed. I was…

From Manila

From Pasay, Cubao, or Caloocan: Take the bus bound for Iba or Sta. Cruz. The travel time is usually around 4 hours. Refer to this link for the fares: Victory Liner Terminal Guide

Get off at San Antonio Municipal Hall.

From San Antonio town proper, ride a tricycle going to Pundaquit. For two or more passengers, the fare costs PHP 30/head.

In Pundaquit, take a boat going to Nagsasa Cove. For a group of 4-6, the boat ride costs PHP 400/head.

From Tarlac

Take a bus going Olongapo.

From Olongapo, ride a bus bound for Iba or San Felipe.

Get off at San Antonio Municipal Hall.

From San Antonio town proper, ride a tricycle going to Pundaquit. For two or more passengers, the fare costs 30/head.

In Pundaquit, take a boat going to Nagsasa Cove. For a group of 4-6, the boat ride costs PHP 400/head.

  Travel Checklist

Below is the travel checklist that I used for my trip to Nagsasa. Two of the things I’d like to put emphasis on are tumblers and power bank/s. Electricity is very precious in Nagsasa because the resorts in this cove are mostly powered by solar panels. Charging your phones and other gadgets may cost an extra fee. From where we stayed, charging of phones costs PHP 100/hour. So, instead of spending extra bucks to charge your gadgets, just bring a power bank or two that will get you through your whole trip.

Aside from power banks, tumblers will also be your best friend in your stay in Nagsasa. Given the summer heat, it is very important to stay hydrated. That’s why you must always bring your water with you. Using tumblers is more environment-friendly and more tipid (cheaper) compared to buying multiple plastic bottled water in a day. Nagsasa cove is very nice and clean and it’s better if we keep it that way. You know what they say “Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but memories.”

Travel Itinerary

Here’s a sample itinerary that can be your guide for your trip.

Pundaquit, San Antonio Zambales

My friends and I arrived in San Antonio at around 8:00. We first bought something for lunch, dinner, and breakfast from the local public market — which was just behind the San Antonio Municipal Hall. Then, we hired three tricycles for our group (8 pax). In around 30 minutes, we arrived at Pundaquit beach.

Our accommodation (All Blue Nature Resort) already made the arrangements with our boat so we didn’t have to hire one for ourselves. The fees are also included in the accommodation fee that we paid to the resort. But, if you weren’t able to make boat arrangements beforehand, there’s a Boat Information Booth in Pundaquit that can assist you in getting a boat depending on your group capacity.

This was the view that greeted us when we arrived at Pundaquit.

All Blue Nature Resort, Nagsasa Cove

It took us an hour of boat ride from Pundaquit to Nagsasa.

Beachfront of All Blue Nature Resort

Beachfront of All Blue Nature Resort

These are the kubo cottages in All Blue Nature Resort

The view of the beautiful lake in All Blue Nature Resort

Here are the things that are included in our group package:

Entrance fee for 2 days and 1 night

Boat ride back and forth from Pundaquit (life vest included)

Open cottage

Tent for group capacity

Eating and cooking utensils

Five (5) gallons of mineral water

One (1) bonfire at night

For more information, visit their website and/or Facebook page.

In the afternoon on our first day, we climbed Mt. Bira-Bira to see this magnificent view.

View of Nagsasa Cove from Mt. Bira-Bira | Photo by: Carrel Ramos

Our hike was free because we didn’t hire a tour guide but there was an entrance fee of PHP 20.00.

Here are some of our pictures from our Mt. Bira-Bira hike:

It took us around an hour to reach the peak of the mountain.

Before sunset view from Mt. Bira-Bira | Photo by: Primus Macam

After our hike, we watched the sunset and headed back to our tent. We washed up, prepared and ate our dinner.

Our free bonfire sealed the ultimate camping experience for our socials night.

The stars are very vivid from the sky. It was a perfect night to just gaze at the stars.

Stargazing | Photo by: Primus Macam

Snorkeling

Surprisingly we were able to wake up early the next day. At around 7:00 am we ate our dinner. There’s enough time for one more activity before we pack up for our check-out, so we went snorkeling! (Well, my friends did). It cost them PHP 100/head for an hour.

After snorkeling, we packed-up and readied ourselves for check out. We shared a boat with another group that availed an island hopping tour. And just like that, we had an instant free island hopping!

At past 14:00, we arrived in Pundaquit. We took the trike again going to San Antonio, had a late lunch, and rode a bus going to Olongapo.

Total Expenses

Here’s the breakdown of my expenses for the whole trip.

And that my friends was how I explored Nagsasa cove in two days with a 2k budget. Thanks for dropping by!

Day 1

San Juan, La Union

For our first stop, we stayed in a private villa in San Juan La Union. We left Tarlac in the afternoon so we reached La Union around dinner time. We weren’t able to surf anymore but at least we had the pool to ourselves.

Our private villa in San Juan, La Union

The following morning, we woke up early to see the beautiful beach, which was just a 5-minute walk from our villa.

Beautiful morning in San Juan, La Union

Day 2

We enjoyed a hearty breakfast by the shore with the sound of waves as our music. After eating, we hit the road again to go to Vigan.

Calle Crisologo, Vigan

Vigan Od House in Calle Crisologo, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur

Calle Crisologo is among the famous tourist destinations in Vigan. This 500-meter street is famous for the Spanish-style houses established around the Philippine Spanish colonial time.

We ate our lunch in Max’s Restaurant. I love this restaurant because of two things: (1) this specific branch of Max’s offers the famous delicacies of Vigan as part of its menu — Vigan bagnet and longganisa; (2) this mimics the Spanish-style houses found along the calles (streets) in Vigan.

Here are some of our pictures when we walked along Calle Crisologo.

Paoay Church

From Vigan, we drove to Paoay, where we would be spending the night for our second day of road trip.

We visited the Paoay Church, a catholic church famous for its Baroque architecture. Then, we went to the Paoay Sand Dunes.

Paoay Sand Dunes

In Paoay Sand dunes, we went for an exhilarating ride with a 4×4.

Sunset at Paoay Sand Dunes

With my sister-in-law

The package costs PHP 2,500 (good for 4-6 pax). This is also inclusive of unlimited sand boarding lessons. If you want to feel your heart and soul jump out of your body, then, you should totally try it!

Day 3

The following morning, we woke up early again for another drive going to Burgos Ilocos Norte. It’s only around an hour away from Laoag City, where we spent the night on our second day.

Kapurpurawan Rock Formation

Its name Kapurpurawan came from the root word “puraw” meaning “white.” The fairness of this rock formation made it famous to tourists.

Kapurpurawan Rock formation from afar

Up close shot

A few meters away from the rock formation is an sculpture representing the epic Ilocano poem, Biag ni Lam-ang (Life of Lam-ang).

Biag ni Lam-ang (Life of Lam-ang) is a pre-Hispanic Ilocano poem that was first written by the blind Filipino poet, Pedro Bucaneg.

One thing I noticed while I was in Ilocos was that: windmills are everywhere! Here’s a picture of the windmills that aer found near the rock formation.

Pagudpud White Beach

From Burgos, we drove to Pagudpud white beach, where we stayed until our fourth and last day.

Here’s a picture of the white beach in Pagudpud, with some windmills viewed from afar.

Suset in Pagudpud

Picture with my family

Day 4

On our last day, we were headed south to go back to Tarlac. We only had a couple of stops on the way.

Bangui Windmills

After we check out from our hostel in Pagudpud, we stopped by the windmills in Bangui. Now, you might be wondering, if windmills are all around Ilocos, why did we still have to make a stopover in Bangui. Well, that’s because this particular windmill farm in Bangui is recognized as the largest in Southeast Asia. Plus, it’s a perfect picturesque place.

Malacañan of the North

We hit the road again and our next stop was the former house of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Room office of the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

Juan & Antonio Luna Shrine

Our last stop, and my favorite one, was the house of Juan and Antonio Luna, both of whom I’d like to recognize as the true heroes of the north.

Juan and Antonio Luna Museum

Too bad our visit fell on a Sunday and a holiday too (December 31). That’s why we weren’t able to go inside the museum. But here are some pictures we were able to take.

Born in Urbiziondo, San Nicolas, Manila, 29 October, 1866. Finished his Doctorate in Pharmacy in Universidad Central de Madrid. Joined the propaganda movement against Spanish colonisers and became a contributor in the newspaper La Solidaridad under the pen name “Taga-ilog” (from the river). Imprisoned 16 September 1896; exiled and imprisoned in Carcel Modelo de Madrid, February 1897. Freed and went back to the Philippines, 1898. Founded the newspaper La Independencia, which assailed the American colonisers, 3 September 1898, and became the Assistant Secretary of the revolution, 26 September 1898. Founded the Academia Militar, 25 October 1898. Appointed as Head Commander of the Hukbong Militar ng Republika ng Pilipinas (Military Army of the Republic of the Philippines), February 1899. Murdered in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, 5 June 1899.

Painter, Patriot and Diplomat. Born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, 24 October 1857. Studied in Ateneo Municipal de Manila, Escuela Nautical, and Academia de Dibujoy Pintura, Manila; and Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid. Some of his masterpieces are “La Muerte de Cleopatra,” 1881; “La Batalla de Lepanto,”1887; El Pueblo Y Los Reyes,” 1892; and “Una Bulaqreña,” 1895. Member of the propaganda movement that aimed to achieve reform in the Philippines. Arrested and imprisoned in Manila by the Spanish government for being accused as a part of the Katipunan, 16 September 1896. Later on freed, May 1897. Assigned by President Emilio Aguinaldo as a Diplomat in Paris, 1898. Passed away in Hong Kong, 7 December 1899.

That’s it! Four days of long drive, we were all so tired and sleep deprived. Almost all of us caught a cold. I wanna say, maybe it’s because of all the wind? Plus, it happened in December, so our trip was pretty chilly. BUT, IT WAS SO WORTH IT!!!

How about you, have you visited Ilocos?

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The original plan was that I would go to Cambodia alone. I wanted to go to another country that I’ve never visited before. Since Cambodia (a country I’ve never been to) is just a bus ride away from Thailand, I decided to have a side trip. I would have also visited Vietnam, only if I had more leaves at work. But it was good enough since I really enjoyed my stay, as brief as it was, in Siem Reap!

When I was planning my side trip, my friend told me that he also wanted to go to Siem Reap. I thought it would be safer for me to travel with a friend and perhaps more economical since I would have someone to split my expenses with (e.g. accommodation, transportation, activities). Plus, it would be more fun to have a companion, right?

This is the breakdown of my expenses:

Preparations

I booked our bus ticket way ahead (actually a few days after I booked my flight) because most of the blogs I’ve read suggested a pre-booked bus ticket. I’ve read about a couple of trusted bus lines but the one that I booked was a VIP van of Mekong Express. I chose this option because Mekong Express was the only one I’ve found to have trips every afternoon. Most of the buses depart at 7am to 9am, with an hour interval. My friend and I wanted to have more time exploring Thailand in the morning so the 14:30 departure worked best with our schedule.

It’s also cheaper compared to the other buses maybe because the other buses offer better (reclining) seats, snacks, and other complementaries, while our van didn’t have any of these. It only cost us USD 18 per head while the other buses cost more than USD 20. If you prefer to travel a little bit more comfortably, and leaving in the morning isn’t a problem for you, then perhaps it would be better for you to take one of the earlier trips.

Here are some of the sites that I visited: Camboticket and 12go

VIP Van (Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia)

Now, here’s the scary-almost-made-me-pee-my-pants part. Before noon, my friend and I already started booking for a car through Grab. We also tried looking for normal cabs. It took us around 30 minutes and 3 cancelled bookings before we were able to hit the road again back to our hostel. Then, our travel time increased from an hour to an hour and a half due to heavy traffic.

We reached our hostel at 14:00 — that’s only 30 minutes before our bus departs. Luckily, our hostel was just 10 minutes away from the Mekong Express station. But still! At that point I was already freaking out because I know how dead serious they are about departing on the dot! Any delay could make us miss our van!

At 14:10, our tuktuk dropped us to a place where he said to be a few steps away from the station. But guess what, we couldn’t find any trace of the Mekong Express station! Of course we tried asking the locals there but it was hard to communicate with them since English is not widely spoken in Thailand. We roamed around the area, asked around some more, and at 14:23, we reached the station. But the VIP van wasn’t there!

We went inside their office, introduced ourselves, and said that we were supposed to take the VIP van that leaves at 14:30. The admin told us that the van already left. But this time, I didn’t freak out because they told us that the van would come back for us. And hey, it wasn’t our fault that the van left 10 minutes earlier than the set schedule!

I calmed my nerves when we finally settled on our seats. There was a wifi on the van but my friend and I couldn’t connect. We had a very light breakfast that day and we skipped lunch so we’re pretty much starving when we were already in the van. We were supposed to buy snacks before we board the van but due to our mishaps, we didn’t have the luxury of time. Good thing, after an hour or so, we had a 30-minute stopover.

It was at that point when my friend told me to chill. He said I worry too much. (well, can you blame me?) I thought we were gonna starve for the whole 10-hour trip. My friend made a bible reference, and told me, “God will provide.” And yeah, He sure did!

At the stopover, we ate a pretty good Thai meal and bought some to-go snacks.

Thailand-Cambodia Border

The sun has already set when we reached the border to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Since our trip was a direct trip to Siem Reap, we were able to leave our luggages safely inside the van. Some buses/vans travel only up to the border so if you took one of these, you might have to transfer to another bus/van to go to Siem Reap or Phnom Pehn or whichever part of Cambodia you’d like to visit. This would also mean that you would need to bring all of your luggages with you through the immigration.

It took us around 30 minutes to successfully cross the border. Since there were only a few of us inside the van, there was a short waiting time for us. If you took one of bigger buses, you might need to spend a little bit more time at the border because your bus won’t depart until all of its passengers passed through the immigration.

To be honest, I was a little bit scared when we were at the border. Maybe it’s just me and my thing with immigration sections in general. Every time I’m at the immigration, I just get really scared even though I know I’m not doing anything wrong. I fear that for some reason I might not be able to cross. But, that’s just my thing! And to add to that, I’ve also read that there are a lot of pickpockets and scammers at the Thailand-Cambodia border. Good thing, we didn’t have any problems when we were crossing.

I realized that it’s just really hard to trust something or someone you are not familiar with. But, when you’re travelling, you just have to take a leap of faith. Have some faith in the goodness of humanity. Give some goodness also yourself. And good things will follow.

Accommodation

We were a bit ahead our schedule. At a little past 23:00, we were already at the Mekong Express station in Siem Reap. I needed to find a place with good wifi because I had to communicate with our Airbnb host. We went inside Asia Market, a mini grocery store with a good wifi connection. We needed to buy something for a late dinner and early breakfast anyway so we’re fortunate to have found this store.

When I got a good internet connection, I confirmed our booking and I asked for directions. It was easy to communicate with our host and our room was nice enough.

We booked for a twin room in Angkor Orchid Hotel through Airbnb. Our booking was inclusive of one pick up/drop off and breakfast. If you’re planning on going to Cambodia, there are a lot of cheap and great finds on Airbnb. If you don’t have an account yet, you may sign up through this link to get a PHP 1,100 (USD 20) discount on your first trip.

We rode a tuktuk going to the hotel. Our driver was so nice that we ended up renting his tuktuk for the our whole day in Cambodia. It turned out that his rate was cheaper than the rate of the tuktuk drivers from the hotel, so it was a good deal for us!

Angkor Wat

This was my one-day pass at the Angkor World Heritage. I know, I know, I look terrible, right? The kind lady at the booth didn’t warn me that my photo was already being taken.

Our tuktuk driver picked us up at 04:30 because he strongly recommended that we see the sunrise at the Angkor Wat. Good thing we arrived there early because lines were already building up around the ticket booths.

There were three options: 1-day, 3-day, or 7-day pass. Since we were only staying in Cambodia for a day, we didn’t have much of a choice but to get the 1-day pass. If you’d like visit all the temples in the Angkor World Heritage, I suggest that you get either the 3-day pass or 7-day pass because there’s no way you can visit each and every temple in a day! There’s just so many temples and they are far away from each other so you really need a tuktuk to get from one temple to the next.

Read more: ANGKOR-PASS: NEW PRICES FROM 1.2.2017 – FULL DETAILS

When we arrived at the Angkor, we had enough time to eat our breakfast. We bought a local sub from one of the stalls/stores inside the heritage park. Then just right before the sun rises, we went in front of the famous Angkor Wat.

There was a long walkway to the Angkor Wat. On our way, we were greeted by these lovely lilies.

Beautiful lilies in front of the Angkor Wat

  At 7:00, visitors were already allowed to go inside the Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat at sunrise

  Inside Angkor Wat

  Beautiful silhouette of the Angkor Wat architecture

After exploring the wonderful Ankor Wat, we rode our tuktuk again and we went to Angkor Tom.

Angkor Tom

We basically just went on our own because we didn’t hire a tour guide. For me, you don’t really need a tour guide to appreciate the beauty of the temples. If you are on a budget, maybe what you can do is research on the history of these temples, save it on you tablet or phone, or have a print out. You may read them ahead and just locate them when you’re actually there; or you may read it while you are exploring the place itself.

It may not be the same as having the stories of these temples told by a local, but hey, close enough, right? You just need to find reliable sources of information and you’re good to go! If you could find blogs/articles written by a Cambodian, then, there’s your authentic Cambodian story already!

At this point of the day, the sun has already risen and was shining up bright. It was kinda humid but nothing new to me since I’m from the Philippines.

One of my favorite parts of the day was when we were riding the tuktuk around the Angkor World Heritage. We passed by a lot of different kinds of trees. We were just sitting there, admiring the beauty of nature, while we felt the fresh air brushing our hair and touching our skin.

It was such a wonderful day to feel so alive and be thankful for everything that’s happening all at once.

Ta Prohm

If you are only staying for a short while, and you just want to see at least a few of the temples, then the 1-day pass would be good enough. You may notice that the temples kinda look alike. Perhaps, you can just choose a few temples you’d like to visit. We visited the most popular ones: Angkor Wat, Angkor Tom, and Ta Prohm. We could’ve visited more since we still had some time but we were so tired from walking and just walking around the different temples.

After our little temple hopping, we had our late lunch in one of the restaurants inside Angkor Wat. Then, we asked our tuktuk driver to take us to the floating village. The travel time seemed to be about an hour and a half. I wasn’t so sure because my friend and I fell asleep during the ride (Oops! Boy, we were so tired!)

I didn’t realize we were supposed to pay for a boat ride, which was $10 per person! I think it was my fault because I wasn’t able to research much about the floating village.

When we arrived, we were torn because we drove so far and it would have been a waste of time if we didn’t go. But, at the same time, we found it too pricey and it wasn’t included in our budget. In the end, we decided not to go. We ended up just buying some pasalubongs (souvenirs) at the souvenir shop. Then, we headed back to our hotel.

On our way back we were fully awake. We saw the beauty of Cambodia beyond the Angkor. It was then when I thought that our long drive was not at all a waste of time because we may not have seen the floating village, but in some other way, felt like we had a taste of the very rich Cambodian culture.

This was me with our tuktuk when we stopped for some snacks. Our tuktuk driver took us to a place where they sell fried snakes! I didn’t try it because I feared that it would upset my stomach. I couldn’t afford to be sick because we were gonna fly back to Manila that night.

This was the picture of the fried snakes! Our tuktuk driver, Mr. Reun, told us that these are very popular to Cambodians. He said that during holidays, they go to that area to blow off some steam and eat this famous delicacy.

On our way back, I also noticed that there are a lot of English Tutor houses — by tutor houses I mean they literally looked like houses and are separate from the primary and secondary schools. We passed by at least three of these. No wonder Cambodians are really good in speaking in English. We didn’t have a hard time communicating with them because they are very articulate!

Night Market + Traditional Khmer Massage

We washed up in our hotel when we arrived then we headed to the night market which was just a few meters away from our hotel. We ate dinner by the street! Yes, by the street! That was my first time trying street food outside the Philippines. The food were so cheap. A meal ranges from 1-2 dollars.

After dinner, we went to the night market to do some last minute shopping. I was able to buy some shirts, elephant pants, and other little memorabilia!

Just right before we head to the airport, we dared to try the Traditional Khmer Massage near our hotel. It was so relaxing that I even fell asleep!

It was a very looong day. We were tired, sleepy, and still kinda hungry. We wished we could’ve spent more time to explore Siem Reap, but we were also feeling relieved that we would be home soon.

That’s it for my day trip in Cambodia!

Have you visited the beautiful Kingdom of Cambodia yet? I’d love to hear (or read) about your story! Drop me some links so I can visit your blog, too!

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Because of all the activities we had the day before, we woke up late on our last day. We just had enough time to take a bath and fix our stuff before we checked out. Our Airbnb booking was only for two nights so on our third day, we went around Taiwan with our backpacks until our flight. You can just imagine how tiring that was, but, somehow, we managed — one of the perks, perhaps, of travelling young.

Our checkout was supposedly at 11 AM but we finished fixing our stuff at around 11:30. Yumi was kind enough to waive the additional fee for late checkout. You can view her Airbnb listing on this link: Entire Apartment in Sanchong District

If you don’t have an Airbnb account yet, you may sign-up using this link to get a PHP 1,100 (USD 20) discount on your first trip.

Going to Yehliu

On my previous post entitled Taiwan Days 1 & 2, I wrote about how much I enjoyed using the MRT in Taipei. It’s not too complicated and it’s very convenient. However, there were no trains going to Yehliu, only buses. We went to the nearest bus stop, then, realized that I didn’t know which bus to take! We didn’t buy any mobile sim, so we couldn’t use the internet; and there were no wifi nearby. So I was like, what am I gonna do now? Just when my kuya (older brother) was starting to think that I was ready to travel alone (since he basically relied on me and my plans during our whole trip), I made a major fail!

We checked the bus schedule posted at the bus stop, but it was all written in Chinese! We didn’t even know if we were on the right bus stop!

My kuya remained calm because he’s very much used to travelling. He said there’s nothing much we could do then but to ask a local. We approached the woman who was waiting at that bus stop with us. She understood what we asked, but she had a difficulty explaining herself in English. She checked the bus schedule and told us to wait for bus no. 1815. But, as if that’s not enough, she waited with us until our bus arrived. I seriously think up to this day that she missed her bus on purpose just to make sure that we’ve taken the right bus. (What a nice lady, really!) Anyway, when our bus arrived she talked to the driver. From what I’ve gotten from it, it’s like she was the telling the driver where we’re headed. She then turned to us to reassure that that bus was going to Yehliu.

We thanked her and got on board.

We paid for the fare upfront before going to our seats. We were supposed to use a card that It took us around two hours to get to Yehliu.

For the bus schedule, click on this link: Yehliu Geopark FAQ

Yehliu Geopark

Yehliu is famously known for its rock formation that looks amazing on any instagram photo. To know more about Yehliu, read here: Yehliu Geopark

Before we got to the rock formation, we paid for an entrance fee worth NTD 80 per head.

This was my ticket

Here are some more pictures:

             It was really so nice take the time and appreciate the wonders of nature.

After our little pictorial sesh, we exited the Geopark and had a quick snack in the stalls nearby. We found this awesome bubble tea store!

I bought this large taro milk tea for only NTD 45. This was the best taro I’ve ever had in my whole life! It was made with fresh taro, which made it taste so rich. I super loved it!

After we got reenergized, we hopped on to the next bus going to Taipei. Our next stop, the Taipei City Mall.

Taipei City Mall

It was already at dusk when our bus arrived. The traffic at this time was heavier so it took us longer (2 hours) to get to Taipei.

We got off at the Taipei Main Station. The Taipei City Mall was just a few meters away but finding it was tricky because it is located underground.

There are a lot of great finds in here! There were a lot of anime collectibles, toys, apparels, souvenirs, and many more! We weren’t able to take pictures because we just roamed around very quickly. To find out more, you may check out this article:Taipei City Mall: What To Do At Taipei Main Station’s Underground Mall

Taipei 101

We still had a few hours to kill before our flight, so we headed to Taipei 101. This was actually not part of our itinerary, but we needed place for our last minute shopping.

This is Taipei 101 during the day

Our picture with the Taipei 101 tower

The Taipei 101 is famous for it’s observatory deck, which overlooks the whole of Taipei. We didn’t go to the observatory deck anymore because we didn’t have much time and it’s actually kind of expensive. But, if you’re interested, you may check out the ticket prices/promos here: Taipei 101 Observatory E-Ticket from Klook

At the lobby, there’s the famous Din Tai Fung restaurant. We meant to have our dinner here but we saw the long waiting line, so we went inside the Taipei 101 mall instead. We ate at the mall’s food court, which offered a wide variety of food.

Of course, we are at the true home of Din Tai Fung

After dinner, we went around for our last minute shopping. By the way, if you are going to shop at the Taipei 101, there’s tax refund counter at the ground floor. We weren’t able to get a refund because there’s a long waiting line and we were catching our flight schedule. So, after shopping, we rode the MRT back to the central station where we transferred to the train going to the airport.

Taoyuan Airport MRT

  Look how tired we were!

This is their MRT token

That’s it guys! Writing this blog actually makes me miss Taiwan! It’s such a fun experience. I’d love to go back there again.

If you have any blog posts about Taiwan, send me a link on the comment box below because I’d love to read them! Thanks for dropping by!

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