Day 1 in Taiwan : Danshui, Sun Yat Sen, Taipei 101, Ximending, Shilin Night Market

After only sleeping lightly for 5 hours, actually I think I only slept for 2 hours, its always difficult getting some sleep on my first day on a foreign land, so it was difficult starting the day early at 8AM  to meet our targeted must see sights around Taipei for this day. As we walked to the Taipei Main Station, we were greeted with a throng of commuters rushing for work and school but it wasn't  at all chaotic, order and discipline is worthy of notice among the locals. I had to observe for a while to be able to get my grip, follow their lead then go with the flow. I need to always keep right when walking and riding the elevators especially when not in a hurry.

My tour guide is the map of Taipei MRT and we were concentrating on the Danshui Line/Red Line on our first day. Our first stop was  Danshui Station, the northernmost part on the Route Map of Metro Taipei. It has become the most popular riverside town in the north of Taiwan and more crowds gather here during weekends and national holidays. It was drizzling in Danshui when we got there, still we check the bay side park of the Danshui station for some photo ops and then head to Danshui Fisherman's Wharf by riding Shuttle Bus Red 26, another option in going there is by ferry. The drizzling stopped when we reached Fisherman's Wharf, it was cloudy but still a nice day. It's usually better to see it at sunset  from what I've seen from photos with the lover's bridge looking very romantic.

DANSHUI/TAMSHUI

After grabbing some bites, we head back to Taipei Main Station and walk to our hotel for check out and then transfer to the adjacent Keymans Hotel. Afterwards, we decided to change our route from Red Line to Blue Line or Bannan Line and check out Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall before heading to Taipei 101.

SUN YAT SEN MEMORIAL HALL

This is a memorial to Republic of China's National Father, Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The hall was completed in 1972 and exhibits revolutionary events of the national father. It's also a multi purpose social, educational and cultural center for the Taiwanese people.

An individual should not have too much freedom. A nation should absolute freedom..... Sun Yat Sen

Within striking distance is Taipei 101, you can either walk going there or ride the MTR to Taipei City Hall Station then a free shuttle bus to Taipei 101, we choose the latter.

TAIPEI 101

Taipei 101 is the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2007, preceded by Malaysia's Petronas Twin Tower and now surpassed by Dubai's Burj Dubai. It's a landmark skyscraper, an icon of modern Taiwan that tourists shouldn't miss.

Indoor viewing deck is at 88th floor and outdoor viewing  is at 91st floor. Entrance to the observatory decks is at the 5th floor of Taipei 101 Mall. For a fee of  400NT, you'll get to access 88th to 91st floors,  ride the world's fastest elevator, that only took us 45 seconds to reach 88th floor and see entire Taipei in a 360 degrees view.

XIMENDING  
 
Ximending is the trendy shopping and entertainment district of Taipei, a popular gathering place for young people. It has been termed the "Harajuku" of Taipei.

We were supposed to eat at TAMAGOYA but much to our dismay they were already close by 9PM. With our stomach grumbling and our feet already sore, we're still raring to go for one more stop, Jiantan Station to check out Shilin Night Market before calling it a day.

SHILIN NIGHT MARKET

Shilin Night Market is considered to be the largest and most famous night market in Taipei especially when it comes to food. Normal operation starts at 4PM until past midnight. The night market is divided into two sections, first building houses food vendors and small eateries and the other one are for non food items. We were more interested to check out the food section and tried out famous Taiwan delicacies like oyster omelet, turnip cake, bubble teas, plum drink and mango strawberry with shaved ice and ice cream. We hesitated to try stinky tofu because were already full and its smell is sort of repelling our initial plan to try this popular Taiwanese favorite. Maybe next time ....

Whew, we finished our day successfully but my legs and feet were officially sore. I know it will be worst when I wake up, so I readied my pain relievers for tomorrow ^_^ .....