In December 2016, we used our airmiles to book a quick trip to Taipei. Although I have been to Taipei before on business, there was not a lot of time to do anything touristy. I do remember the food at the original branch of Din Tai Fung though - where all the dishes were amazing including double-boiled black chicken soup and the best pork soup dumplings "xiao lung bao" ever!
Our 1st day or so was spent just exploring the central area such as the National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and of course eating at Din Tai Fung at the original Xinyi Road branch.
I soon discovered getting around Taiwan was not easy as my knowledge of Chinese characters is poor and my Mandarin is middling at best. Not that much English was spoken. Luckily, Din Tai Fung were very used to foreigners and we were seated in a special area where staff speak English.
On the 2nd day, we had booked a tour to see Shifen and Jiufen. This was fun as we got to see Jiufen which apparently is the inspiration for the hot springs town in the anime "Spirited Away". I was very taken by a candy shop which named itself "Candy Crush"! I'm sure there are all sorts of copyright issues but it still brought a smile to my face.
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| The Candy Crush store |
Jiufen was very crowded during the day and as we were not staying till the evening, we couldn't see the red lanterns all lit up. There were lots of touristy food stores in the alleyways.
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| Alleyways of Jiufen |
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| Jiufen |
Shifen was also charming - with a bustling main street with railway tracks running through it. Here, tourists write their wishes on huge sky lanterns and release them on the railway track. We went one step further and the tour got us making our own lanterns with tissue paper panels and glue made from rice.
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| Lantern-making |
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| Getting ready to release our sky lantern |
We ended our trip to Taipei with a stay at a hot spring resort at Beitou. The journey was super-easy as Beitou is accessible via subway from Taipei city. I've done a fair amount of research and had booked a private hot spring room at Grandview Resort.
The room was very grand and there were lots of extras including some traditional Taiwanese pyjamas, a whole tray of exciting toiletries and even a relaxation CD to take away!
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| Wearing the Taiwanese PJs |
All the snacks in the mini-bar including several teas, nuts and chocolates were totally free, as was a whole plate of fruit. Plum wine was delivered to our room in the evening. The bathroom was particularly beautiful with twin sinks, separate toilet and shower. The highlight was the two deep and large bath tubs for hot spring soaking. There was also a patio where you could enjoy the cool mountain air after bathing.
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| Dual tubs and green scenery |
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| Lots of toiletries and creams to try! |
I had bought a full-board package which included afternoon tea, dinner and breakfast. Although the food was beautifully-presented, the combination of different Western and Asian food types was a bit odd. What we appreciated most of all is the service during check-in. They asked us for all our preferences and upon finding out Paul was allergic to MSG, they were able to work with the kitchen to ensure his meals were MSG-free, at very short notice.
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| Afternoon tea |
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| Odd breakfast that included roast chicken and salad! |
In retrospect, it felt a bit rushed to only spend one night as we had to rigorously plan out and schedule out times for hot spring soaking with our meal times. I filed a mental note that we need at least 2 nights when staying at hot spring resorts for the future to ensure total relaxation.
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