It’s been forever since I travelled overseas. My last trip was in 2008 in which I visited New Zealand. Since then, I have been keeping to the Aussie soil and travelling around country Victoria as well as to the other major cities in Australia to get to learn my adopted country. So it was with much excitement that the sister and I headed off to our first overseas trip together.

The sister is 5 years younger than me, and since I left home at such a young age, we have hardly had time or opportunity to go anywhere together. It made this trip even more special as it was a time for us sister to spend some quality time together without having to ‘behave’ in front of the parental units.

We flew with Airasia which meant leaving KL through LCCT, the budget terminal. It was my first time there and I realised that I have been awfully spoilt with my frequent trips through Changi Airport. Why can’t every airport be like Changi Airport!? Oh well, we were just passing through anyhow. Taipei, here we come!

I was incredibly impressed when I reached Taoyuan International Airport. Especially with the luggage carousel. I wouldn’t have thought that such a simple thing as a man standing at the luggage entry point to stand and arrange the luggages as they came out would make such a difference. Things were orderly, folks manage to retrieve their luggage easily and move on quickly, I was amazed!

Taipei Travelling Tip #1:

When travelling in Taiwan, it is a good idea to obtain a mobile sim. You can obtain them from the airport. Just turn left after baggage collection and left again at the end of the path. In most cases, you will need two form of IDs (eg: Passport and IC/NRIC). You are able to choose between just a data sim or data and GSM sim card. They are also able to do micro sims, so feel free to bring along your iPads and iPhones. No activation is needed, just pop in and go.

I went with Chunghwa Telecommunications as I felt their rates were the best. You can study their rate cards to see which suits you best!

Taipei Travelling Tip #2:

Instead of taking a taxi to your hotel, take a bus to Taipei Central Station instead and take the MRT from there. It’s a lot cheaper! A one way ticket will cost you NT90 or around 3 aud. How’s that for cheap?

To get to the buses, turn right after baggage collection and right again at the end of the path. Follow the outside of the building till you come to the bus lounge with the ticket counters at the corner.

We were lucky and realised later on that our bus actually stopped at a bus stop near our hotel before Taipei Central Station, so off we got and headed to Sunroute Hotel to check in. I will share my review of Sunroute Hotel later on.

By the time we came back out of our room, it was raining heavily. But determined to get the most out of our first day in Taipei, we headed off towards our first nightmarket: Raohe St. Nightmarket

Taipei Travelling Tip #3

If you are going to be in Taipei for a few days, consider getting the Taipei Tourism Pass. This means unlimited rides on the MRT and city buses within that time frame. It also comes with a brochure to give you more of a guide around Taipei, including discount vouchers and even recommended routes for the convenience of travellers.

The Taipei pass is available in the following denominations: 1-day pass (NT$180), 2-day pass (NT$310), 3-day pass (NT$440), 5-day pass (NT$700), and Maokong Gondola 1-day pass (NT$250).

Raohe st nightmarket is actually a fair hike from the MRT station. But if you are already in the area visiting Wu Fen Pu, then Raohe St Nightmarket is the perfect place for your dinner. Rest assured that you can’t miss it, as the entrance to Raohe is decorated with lights and a big glaring sign that proudly welcomes you to the nightmarket.

The hustle and bustle was unmistakable even in the rain. As I huddled under an umbrella with sis at the entrance, my first thought was: “Oh my gosh, why’s everybody lining up at that stall!?” Because right at the entrance of the nightmarket sits the Pepper Bun stall (福州世祖胡椒饼). Arguably the most famous thing about Raohe too.

Taipei Travelling Tip #4:

If there’s a queue at a food stall, join it.

And join it, I did. These pepper buns were charcoal baked, stuck to the walls of the oven and handmade on the spot. While the queue was long, it also moved fast and within a few minutes we were already at the front of the queue. Freshly baked, these pepper buns were aromatic and distinctly smokey. The crust was crispy and dry, not greasy and the meat filling tender and juicy. If this was what Taiwan street food is, then I was in for a treat for the week already! Be careful of copycats though, look for the black and yellow sign!

And thus this was how we spent the rest of the night. Eating, shopping, and then eating some more. Raohe nightmarket is somewhat cramped especially that day because it was raining quite heavily so all the umbrellas were out in force. Most of the food stalls were on the road while both sides are filled with shops selling a range of shoes, boots, shirts and dresses. We came across these little desserts that looked amazing and seemed intriguing so we got a bag of it. Unfortunately they didn’t taste quite as good as they sounded and didn’t have much going for them. Pity.

Despite the rain, the crowd was showing no signs of letting up. We soldiered on as best we could and I did an incredible amount of shopping when I wasn’t too busy eating. Shoes, boots, coats, dresses, you name it, I bought them all. I also sank my teeth into stinky tofu (at two different stalls!) and marvelled at all the different kinds of street food that were on offer. I wish I had a bigger stomach!

Without noticing, it was already past midnight. Here’s where we made our first mistake. We didn’t check to see what time was the last MRT. Whoops. So by the time we were ready to go, we were informed by the friendly Taiwanese sellers that the MRT was shut and we would have to cab it back. Sighing at our idiocy, I proceeded to sit down for another spot of dessert. After all, there’s no more MRT to run for, right?

Man. Taiwanese really know how to make desserts. I’m salivating just thinking about it all. As it were, sis and I thoroughly enjoyed this bowl of beancurd pudding. Yum.

With that, we decided it was time to go home. Our shopping was getting heavy, it was half past midnight and it was only the first day. We cabbed it back to our hotel and fell asleep with our tummies happy. I love Taipei!

Address: 249 Raohe Street, Taipei (Next to the temple)
地址: 台北市饒河街249號前

Walking Directions: about 25 minutes walk from Houshanpi (後山埤) MRT station (exit: Wufenpu commercial district)

You can do the Houshanpi MRT->Formosa Chang->Wufenpu ->Raohe Night Market route if walking. Alternatively, take a cab from Houshanpi station.