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I am Ulyssa Elaine - Travel, Food and Lifestyle Blogger

Ximending is popularly known as the "Harajuku " of Taipei, a shopping district with massive variety of food and clothing. 

We chose to stay here in Ximending because it reminds me of Myeong-dong in South Korea. As usual, I meticulously search for an affordable, comfortable and stylish hotel in Ximending and I found this one, Via Hotel Ximen.



By the way, the hotel has 8.6 rating from Agoda so it's not bad, huh. 

» Via Hotel Ximen «

Via Hotel Ximen is a chic boutique hotel located in Ximending district. It was built in 2012 so it's pretty new and clean. It's just a 3 - 5 minutes walk from Ximen MRT station, Exit 6.


Photo from the hotel's website

How we travelled here from the airport will be tackled on my next blog post.


» Booking Procedure «


You can book through its website http://www.via-hotel.com.tw/ximen. We booked through Agoda for a better hotel deal.



» Rooms «


The hotel has 70 rooms to choose from. Because we're a family of 10, we booked two quad-rooms (1 room for the girls and 1 room for the boys) and also 1 double room (for the girls as well). 

Here are the list of the room types:
  • Double Room - 23 m²/ bed size : 152 cm x 190 cm
  • Twin Room - 23 m² / 2 single beds (bed size : 108 cm x 190 cm)
  • Triple Room - 30 m² / 1 double bed (bed size : 152 cm x 190 cm) and 1 single bed (bed size : 108 cm x 190 cm)
  • Quadruple Room - 33 m² / 2 double beds (bed size : 152 cm x 190 cm)
  • Single Room - 16 m² / bed size : 152 cm x 190 cm

All rooms include:
  • Complimentary bottles of mineral water, coffee and tea
  • Personal care set
  • ToTo Shower set / Japanese style Bathtub
  • 42-inch LED TV / Refrigerator / Personal Digital Safe Case
  • Complimentary High-speed WiFi / Internet

Here's the preview of our quad room:




>

» Amenities / Services «

24-hour front desk. All of their receptionist are friendly and easy to communicate with.



Fast check-in / check-out. After they handled this forms, they already gave us the electronic keys of our rooms.



Free self-service laundry. We didn't avail this one because we're busy on our daily errands. The laundry room is located in 6th floor.


24-hour snack bar. This is what I love about this hotel. They have overflowing food and drinks. 





Take note that every 9 am they provide tea eggs. Tea eggs? It's very yummy, I swear! And also every 9 pm they provide noodles.



» My TripAdvisor Review «



» Info «

Hotel Classification:      3-star hotel

Website:                        http://www.vhotel.com.tw/en
Address:                        2F., No.17, Ln. 114, Sec. 1, Zhonghua Rd., Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan
E-mail Address:             booking@via-hotel.com.tw
Nearby MTR Station:      Ximen, Exit 6
Check-in from:              3:00 PM
Check-out until:            12:00 PM

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I booked our accommodation using my own money.

» Overall «

After our 4 days and 3 nights in Via Hotel Ximen, I can proudly say that our family enjoyed our stay. Via Hotel Ximen exceeded our expectations and the hotel is perfect for family trip. :)




How about you? Have you been to Taiwan? Where did you stay? Share your experience.
Saturday, April 28, 2018 1 comments
Before we headed to the airport for our early morning flight on the next day, we tried the famous themed restaurant, Modern Toilet. It was just walking distance from our hotel, Via Hotel Ximen.


» Modern Toilet Restaurant «

Modern Toilet Restaurant is a quirky themed restaurant that was originated in Taiwan. 






» Info «

Nearby MTR Station:       Ximen, Exit 6
Address:                         2F, No 7, Lane 50, Xining South Road, Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan
Opening Hours:               Weekdays: 11:30 am to 10:00 pm and Weekends:  11:00 am to 11:00 pm
Website:                         http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/en/about.asp

How about you? Have you tried the restaurant? Share your experience.
Saturday, April 28, 2018 No comments
After our trip from National Taiwan University, we headed to the one of the famous parks in Taipei area. 


» Huashan 1914 Creative Park «

Huashan 1914 Creative Park, was built in 1914 as a winery but in 2005 turned as a park and is home of art exhibitions, boutique and cafes.








» Info «

Nearby MTR Station:       Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station, Exit 1
Address:                         No. 1, Section 1, Bade Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
Opening Hours:               Mondays closed. Tuesday to Friday: 10:00 am to 10:00 pm
Admission Fee:               FREE except on some art galleries and exhibits

How about you? Have you been to this park? Share your experience.
Friday, April 27, 2018 No comments
After we took our lunch and checked-out from our hotel, my family headed to National Taiwan University. We chose to go here because we want to see the glimpse of one of the best universities in Asia.


» National Taiwan University «

National Taiwan University, which was established in 1928 and reorganized in 1945, is the most prestigious university in Taiwan. It has now 11 colleges with 54 departments and 107 graduate institutes. 

Last year (2017), it was ranked as 144th best university in the world and 14th in Asia.








» Info «

Nearby MTR Station:      Gongguan Station, Exit 3
Address:                        No. 1, Sec 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan 10617
Website:                        http://www.ntu.edu.tw/english/index.html


How about you? Have you been to this university? Share your experience.
Friday, April 27, 2018 No comments
Front of Ximen Station, Exit 1

» Red House Theater «

Red House Theater is Taiwan's first public market, which was built in 1908. It was designed with western-styled architecture. Today, it houses art exhibitions, restaurants, cafes and shops. At weekends, the front of the structure are filled with bazaar.



Nearby MTR Station:      Ximen, Exit 1
Address:                        No. 10, Chengdu Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
Opening Hours:             Closed on Mondays. 
                                     Sunday - Thursday (11:00 am - 9:30 pm)
                                     Friday - Saturday (11:00 am - 10:00 pm)
Age Requirement:         At least 12 years of age
Website:                        http://www.redhouse.taipei/index_en.aspx


» Taipei Cinema Park «

Taipei Cinema Park is part of Ximending and it's known for cool street arts and skateboarders.




Nearby MTR Station:      Ximen, Exit 6
Address:                        No. 19, Kangding Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
Opening Hours:             Open 24 hours
Admission Fee:              FREE
Website:                        http://www.cinemapark.org.tw/English/Index.aspx

How about you? Have you been to these two places? Share your experience.
Friday, April 27, 2018 No comments
Yehliu Geopark, Shifen and Jiufen are the must visit attractions in northern Taiwan. The north of Taiwan offers the most scenic part of the country.

Last January 2018, KKDay had a 3-day promo of Buy 1 Take 1 sale of their signature tours in Taiwan, which includes Jiufen, Yehliu and Shifen day tour. We used the promo code SPIRITEDAWAY to avail the tour. The tour costs Php 1,716 for two persons.

From KKDay Facebook page




The meeting time and place was 8:45 am at Taipei Main Station Exit E1. You can check this link for more details: https://www.kkday.com/en-ph/product/2287. 

Unfortunately, the whole day was raining so hard. Good thing there were vendors offering to sell raincoats and umbrellas. We brought each and took the whole day tour. 

Note: Our OOTDs were covered with raincoats. 😅

» Yehliu Geopark «

Our tour started in visiting Yehliu Geopark. This stunning geopark is located in Wanli District, near Keelung City. The park is best known for its number of beautiful rock formations, which was formed by wave attack, rock weathering and so on. The best known rock formation is the iconic Queen's Head. The other one known rock formation is the Princess Head. 

The tour guide told us that the Queen's Head might broke due to marine erosion in the few years so the Princess Head will takeover it in the near future. 

Note: The tour lasted for an hour.



» Shifen «


Our next stop was Shifen. This village can be found in the Pingxi area of Taiwan. It is one of the most popular destination because of its sky lanterns!

Our tour guide told us that sky lanterns in Taiwan can only be found in Pingxi area. She also told us a brief history of the place.

Note: The tour lasted for an hour and 30 minutes.

I bought 4-colored sky lantern for TWD 200. I wrote down all of my wishes and hoping that it will happen in the future.


Here's the glimpse of our sky lantern experience. After we flied our lantern, the train passed by. It was a great experience indeed.


If you're planning to buy "pasalubongs" such as sky lantern miniatures, I do recommend to buy it here because it's cheapest compared to the other 2 attractions. Luckily, I bought one sky lantern miniature for only TWD 50.



» Jiufen «

Jiufen is a mountainous town in Ruifang District. It is known as an inspiration setting on the award-winning movie Spirited Away.

Our tour guide told us a brief background of the place. What I love about going in to tours is having a tour guide, who have strong communication skills and enthusiasm. 

Note: The tour lasted for an hour and 30 minutes.


» Overall «

This day trip was a blast. I felt that I was on a field trip way back when I was a student. We felt ease and comfortable. I really enjoyed this day trip indeed even it rained. 😉


How about you? Have you been to this 3 places? Share your experience.
Friday, April 27, 2018 No comments
Our third stop after Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was Taipei 101. We took our lunch here and stayed for a few hours.

Unfortunately, we didn't go on at the observation deck because they were all afraid of heights. 😅


» Taipei 101 «

Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. Now, the tallest building in the world is Burj Khalifa in Dubai.




» Din Tai Fung «

If you want to eat at the famous Din Tai Fung, you can go here in the afternoon around 3 pm because there's no queue at that time.

Unfortunately, when we came here around 12 pm, there's a long queue in the front of the restaurant. When we were about to exit and go back to MRT station, we saw that there's no queue. 😅



» Info «

Address: No. 7, Section 5, Xinyi Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110

How to get there: Take the Red Line to Taipei 101 / World Trade Center station. Take Exit #4. After entering Taipei 101, head up to the 5th floor to purchase a ticket for the observatory.

Opening hours: Open daily from 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

Taipei 101 Admission Fee: TWD 600 (adults) and TWD 540 (students with valid ID)


How about you? Have you seen the famous Taipei 101? Share your experience.
Thursday, April 26, 2018 No comments
Our next stop that day after Longshan Temple was Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It was souring hot when we got there. We stayed and stroll around for an hour. Before we headed to Taipei 101 to take our lunch.

» Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall «

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was opened in 1980 in honor and memory of the former President of the Republic of China, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. 

Since then, it has been considered as the national historic site of Taiwan. It's now a famous tourist attraction.

Arch of the Liberty Square (自由廣場牌樓)

National Concert Hall (國家音樂廳)

National Theater (國家戲劇院)

» Info «

Address: No. 21, Zhongshan South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100

How to get there: Take Red Line or Green Line to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall / C.K.S. Memorial Hall. Take Exit #5.

Opening hours: Open daily from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Changing of Guards: Morning: 9:00 am, 10:00 am, 11:00 am and 12:00 pm; Afternoon: 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm

Admission fee: FREE

How about you? Have you been here? Share your experience.
Thursday, April 26, 2018 No comments
Our travel list for our second day in Taiwan were the following (in order):
  • Longshan Temple
  • Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
  • Taiwan National University***
  • Taipei 101
  • Huashan 1914 Creative Park***
  • Shilin Night Market
Note: The asterisk indicates that we move this to our fourth day's travel list. I will post the details on my next blog post(s).

For this day, we only bought a 1-day pass, which costs TWD 150 because on the next day (third day), we already booked a day tour from KKDay. I will share it on my next blog post.

» Longshan Temple «

Longshan Temple was built in 1738, one of the oldest and famous Chinese religious temple in Taipei. It was established by immigrants from Fuijian and has been the center and house of worship.



Without further ado, our trip started in visiting Longshan Temple (龍山寺). Longshan Temple is a station away from Ximen station if you will ride in MRT Bannan Line or Blue Line. 

There were few people worshipping and providing their offerings when we visited the place. We strolled here around 30 minutes.



There's a beautiful water falls at one side near the entrance. There were few people taking photos here, too. 


» Info «

Address: No. 211, Guangzhou Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10853

How to get there: Take the Blue Line / Bannan Line to Longshan Temple, take the Exit 1. The temple is located in the right side.

Opening Hours: 6:00 am - 10:00 pm

Admission Fee: FREE

How about you? Have you been to Longshan Temple? Share your experience. 
Thursday, April 26, 2018 No comments
Taiwan is geographically located off the north of the Philippines. 

I love to go here when I was young because I was hook on the Taiwanese dramas, Meteor Garden and It Started with a Kiss. In fact, it was part of my bucket list countries.

But, I was off-guard because of the expensive visa fee. If I'm not mistaken, it costs Php 2,400 to get a visitor visa. 

Good thing this time, Philippine nationals are now eligible to travel Taiwan and it's completely visa-free for 14 days. It's effective starting November 1, 2017 to July 31, 2018 (9-month trial period). Thank you Taiwan government because it's now within our reach to travel to your country. 💖

Without further ado, my family of 10 booked our flight from Manila (Philippines) to Taipei (Taiwan). We travelled last April 22, 2018 at 7:25 am - 10:00 am via Cebu Pacific Air. Our flight back to Manila was April 26, 2018 at 3:15 am - 5:35 am via Cebu Pacific Air as well.

We only had 4 days to spare and enjoy the country...

A few reminders before the trip: 

  • For Filipino nationals, please do pay your Philippine Travel Tax, which costs Php 1,600.00 when you booked a flight or add it on your add-ons. We experienced a very long queue in the morning. Not sure if it's because its peak season. But we didn't experience this long queue when we travelled to Hong Kong last February.
  • For faster queue in immigration, fill-up your immigration cards while waiting on check-in counters.
  • Travel light if you're traveling in less than a week trip (let us say 3-5 days). I really hate to drop and check-in our travel bags. I had an incident that my bag's wheel was torn out.

» Arrival + Taipei Taoyuan Airport + MRT «

After we reached Taipei Taoyuan Airport, we passed by the immigration and walked going to Taoyuan Airport MRT. By the way, it took us 35 minutes to travel from Airport Terminal 1 station to Taipei Main Station.


Photo taken from Taipei Taoyuan Airport website


Because we're family of 10, we're eligible in a group ticket with a discount of 20%. Instead of paying TWD 160 each, we only paid TWD 128 each. That's a great deal, right? Take note that it's only a one-way ticket and you need to enter and exit together through the service gate by the Information Counter.

Photo taken from Taipei Taoyuan Airport website

For more information about Taoyuan Airport MRT, you can check this website.

What I love about this Taoyuan Airport MRT is they have spacious and comfortable seats. They also have designated racks for travel bags.



But there's more! They offer free WiFi internet for 30 minutes.



After we reached Taipei Main Station, we headed to MRT Bannan line or Blue line (BL) going to Ximen MRT Station. We only bought a single-journey ticket for this route for only TWD 20.

We arrived at our hotel, Via Hotel Ximen at around 1 pm. I tackled it on my next blog post.


» Ximending Night Market «


After resting for a few hours, we strolled around Ximending area. Here are the few street foods that we tried:


  • 1978 J&G Fried Chicken / Ji Guang Xiang Xian Ji - Taiwan's best grab-and-go fried chicken.




  • Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodles (阿宗麵線) - The famous food street in Ximending. Take note that there's a long queue and crowds of people standing around the area. We only ordered a small bowl of noodles, which costs TWD 55. The bowl consists rice noodles, pig intestines and cilantro in a streaming hot broth.





  • Hot Star Fried Chicken (豪大大雞排) - It's popular because of its unusual large fried chicken.



How about you? Have you been to Taiwan? How's your trip? Share it here. :)
Thursday, April 26, 2018 No comments
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I'm Ulyssa Elaine, a skinny girl from the Pearl of the Orient Seas, Philippines.

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