台北101，五分埔批发市场，高雄
It was out last day at 台北 before we went down to 高雄. Later this evening, we would be taking train at 台北车站 to 左营 station, 高雄市。The trip would take about 1 hr 40 min, and I thought it was pretty fast, considering the fact that we would be travelling from the northermost part of Taiwan (台北) to the southernmost part (高雄)。 An alternative would actually be to take an inland flight to 高雄机场 but it is less feasible and more expensive (I think). The train ticket costs us about NT1490, which is about S$74 (use the conversion rate S$1=NT20).
After checking out of our dorm and depositing our luggage at the counter, we left the hostel. Initially we planned to go 五分埔 first before going 台北101. However, later did we find out that 五分埔 only opens at about 130 pm, and since it was early, we decide to go 台北101 first. We had breakfast at a 卤肉饭 eatery and the 猪脚 was marvellous!!
台北101 was located at a short distance from 市政府站，and is located in the 台北市信义区, where other important office buildings/places of Taiwan were located, such as 台北市政府，台北世界贸易中心 (Taipei World Trade Center) and 国际会议中心.
We walked past this building which reminded me vaguely of our very own Esplanade theatre:
As that day was rather foggy/misty, some of the shots taken might have a little "smoke" effect.
Some sights along the way:
Mr Tin-Man:
A cute "wheel-chair" by the roadside for passers-by to take a rest:
An attempt at taking a shot of 台北101:
台北101 (side view):
Originally called 台北国际金融中心，台北101 is currently to date the tallest building (摩天大楼) in the world. Besides being a main financial center, it also houses many expensive brand retail shops (as well as less expensive brands such as Espirit), eating places, and our final destination: 室內觀景台, as well as 戶外觀景台. Brief layout:
Basement to level 5: shopping area plus eating places
level 5 to level 88: offices (many of them in financial and insurance sector)
level 89: 室內觀景台
level 91: 戶外觀景台 (subject to weather conditions)
level 91 to 100: telecommunication purposes, such as television, radio and emergency rescue relay stations
We did not do much shopping and as some of us wanted our daily coffee fix, we made our way down to the basement for some Starbucks coffee. To our surprise, starbucks in taiwan was more expensive than back in Singapore. A hot chocolate costs me almost S$6 i think!! as the guys decide to stay at Starbucks to chat and play cards, we split ways and the girls went to buy tickets at level 5 to enter the 室內觀景台 for an aerial view of 台北. the ticket costs us about S$15 each and I felt it was a tinny bit expensive, but since it's an experience not to be missed, we went ahead with it. by the way, there was actually a discount if you produce your student traveller pass. the original price was NT350, but student travellers only pay NT300.
We first entered an elevator that took us up all the way to the 89th floor. Like the building itself, this elevator is also famous. It holds the Guiness Record for the fastest elevator in the world! it was no surprise. the elevator could go up to 16.83 m/s (37.5 miles/hour or 60.4 km/h), and within 36 sec, we had travelled 84 floors!! no wonder that we felt some ear blockage in the midst of the journey up.
As the observatory provides a 360 degree view of 台北市, the observatory is shaped in a circular form, and visitors could see some of the most important buildings in 台湾，such as 总统府 and 中正纪念堂. Audio guides, available in 7 different languages, would be distributed to each visitor, and it is similar to a remote control/phone. As the observatory is dvided into about 10 sections, by pressing the number corresponding to an area on the audio guide, the person gets an audio description of the places/buildings/features he/she can see in that particular area. for e.g. the origins of 四兽山 was given as additional information for the visitor.
As the weather was rather foggy/misty as i mentioned earlier, our view was slightly restricted and we could only see vague outlines of the places that are located further.
One misty view:
What perked me up was the mail boxes available at the observatory for visitors to send greetings/postcards back home, and I promptly bought a postcard from the souvenir shop to send home. There were also cute chops for us to stamp on our postcards.
A picture (found on the website: http://www.taipei-101.com.tw/index_en.htm) that is similar to the one on my postcard:
Some other pictures taken at the observatory:
Maps available to show visitors the buildings/places that can be seen from each window view.
E.g. view of 台北巨蛋 (Taiwan's equivalent of HongKong's 红馆, where only the hottest artistes get to hold concerts with large capacity at, or for new yr countdown concerts etc.):
View of 中正纪念堂，总统府， 台大医院 etc:
View of the mountain terrains:
The southern direction:
Us!!:
Cute versions of the 台北101 at the entrance to the ticketing office when we leave:
Thereafter, we left 台北101 and made our way to 五分埔， which is located at walking distance from 永春 station. It was after 1 pm when we left. The layout of 五分埔 is actually similar to Bugis Street, except that each shop is bigger and the area is less cluttered. As the shops there are wholesale dealers, you would expect cheaper prices and real bargains! I was rather excited about coming here as I have heard about this place mentioned in taiwan variety shows, and their fashion there is rather up-to-date, as most stuff is brought over from japan, korea or hong kong directly.
After we decided to meet at 415 at the entrance, we split into two groups, girls and boys, so that we can "maximise" our shopping experience hehe. In short, I bought about 4 tops, one checkered skirt and one blue dress there. The tops and skirt costs less than S$20 each, and the dress costs about S$25, and I felt it was a real steal, as the material is good, and IMO very nice!! hehe. I would really recommend this place for both sexes as there are also shops selling men's clothes, and have brands such as abercombie (altho. im not sure whether they are authentic or not, since the price is too good to be true!) One regret I had was not buying a pair of beige coloured suede boots which costs only S$25!! So cheap! i had decided not to buy cos i doubt i would wear it at all in singapore's weather. that shop also had a wide range of boots in different cutting, length and colour, and many of them were a real steal! i will definitely go back to 五分埔 the next time i decide to come taiwan again.
Thereafter was a mad rush back to our hostel. as we got lost in 五分埔 (the guys too!) and delayed the meeting time, we ended up arriving at our hostel to collect our luggage close to 5pm, and it was rush cos our train was at 550pm! Haha i haven't been so 狼狈 before, cos we had to lug my ultra big luggage around, and the underground was very inaccessible for travellers and the handicapped as there were many staircases around.
After buying dinner from 7-11, we made our way to the train station and board the train about 10 min earlier. I had cold noodles. we chatted and played mahjong cards on the way, and soon enough, we had reached 左营 station, at about 730 pm.
It was a total nightmare for us after that. We were going to stay at Gaoxiong Gear Hotel, which was located at 建国三路 487号。Due to some miscalculation, we walked almost 30 min to the hotel, dragging our luggages, backpacks and/or bags. I had never felt so tired in my life (except for the 10 km run that i had in OBS last time maybe), and by the time we located our hotel, we were all pretty exhausted, and hungry too.
After checking in our hotel room and leaving our luggage there, we set off to look for some food. At a distance from our hotel, there was a small 夜市 (no idea what's the name) and we bought 花枝羹，鲜虾羹，酥炸菇 etc. and packet back to our hotel room and eat. We also bought bubble tea, and always remember to ask for 五分甜 if they ask you for the sweetness you want for your bubble tea haha cos we made the mistake of asking for 三分甜 and it was almost like normal tea brewed from tea bags. The shop lady was very friendly, and chatted with us about the places we went and can go in Taiwan. She highly recommended 绿岛 for its beautiful scenery.
We watched "Doom" on TV while having our supper. I felt it was quite a pleasant experience, spending time with friends, and exclaiming over the scary parts together haha. Thereafter, we decide to sleep (close to about 2pm) for a good start the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment