Day 1-
Arrived in Tokyo on time. I went into the VIP lounge for a short time until my flight
departure to Taipei. I arrived in Taipei airport on time. Upon clearing immigration
and customs I went to the money changer and got me some NT$. I then went to the
express bus counter and paid 125 NT$ to Taipei Station. The bus was right there
waiting and I put my luggage in the cargo hold and boarded the bus. It was rush
hour traffic so it took about 90 minutes to get to Taipei Station. From there the taxis
were waiting. I had a hard time trying to communicate with the taxi drivers and they
were turning me down. I finally pulled out a flash card that a Chinese friend of mine
made before the trip to show to the taxi drivers the name and address of the hotel
that I'll be staying at. After about the third driver I finally found one that was willing
to take me on the short trip to my hotel. The taxi fare started at 70 NT$ and when I
got to the hotel the meter was at 105 NT$. I gave the driver 200 NT$ and as he was
about to give me the change I told him to keep it. I was so relieved to finally reach
my hotel. I picked up my bags and went to the front lobby for check in. I showed
the receptionist the hotel voucher and then after filling out a card I went up to my
room to unpack. The room was really small and cold. I turned off the AC but it still
felt cold in the room. I took a shower and headed out to a small Japanese style
restaurant and ordered a ramen set meal for 145 NT$. My Chinese friend visiting
Taipei called me up and said he'll come by my hotel with his wife to show me
around. He finally arrived and we took a taxi to Huaxi Street Night Market also
known as Snake Alley. We took some pictures of ourselves for memories and then
we walked around the night market. We saw snake s there but it was late at night
and almost closing time so no snakes were being eaten at that time. We then walked
over to Longshan Temple but it was closed. We took the MRT from Longshan
Temple back to the hotel. I didn't look for any nightlife on my first night as I was jet
lagged from my 3 flight segments to Taipei.
Day 2-Woke up in the morning and it's still cold in the room. I took a shower and
then took the MRT to Taipei Station. I had breakfast at a McDonald's over there.
After that I walked down the street to the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Arts.
Next I hopped on the MRT to Sun Yat Sen Station to take a look at the Sun Yat Sen
Memorial Hall. I reboarded the MRT to City Hall Station. I walked over to Taipei
101 to see the one time tallest building in the World. I bought the ticket to go up to
the 89th floor observatory at 350 NT$. After looking at the sights up there I headed
to the 91st outdoor observatory for 100 NT$. After finishing I went down and
headed back to the MRT station and got off at Xi Men Station. I had lunch there at
McDonald's and then walked around the Xi Men Ding shopping area before heading
back to my hotel. I went to the internet café a couple of blocks from my hotel to
catch up on my e-mails. I took a short nap and then got ready to eat dinner at the
same restaurant as last night. After dinner I took the MRT to Minquan W. Road
station and looked around for Shuangcheng St. which has a side street with hostess
type of bars. I was able to find the bars after searching around for awhile. The bar
area is confined to one side street. There are less than 10 bars and only a couple of
them had about 4-5 girls working and the rest of the bars had less girls than that. It
was really slow there and most of the bars where pretty much empty or with only a
few customers. The customer drinks were 120 NT$ for soft drinks and 160 NT$ for
beer. The lady drinks were 280 NT$ for non alcoholic drinks. I went into the Miami
Bar first since they had 4 girls working there. I just had a beer and then left. I found
out that you pay the bar about 3500 NT$ to take out the girl and then you negotiate
the tip for the girl which is anywhere from 3500-5000 NT$. It sure is expensive for
a take out experience. I went into Volcano Bar next. It's themed after the US state of
Hawaii. They even have Fire Rock beer there from the Kona brewing company. I
had a soft drink there and pretty much drank by myself. I didn't bother having take
out service since it's too expensive and also I'll be heading the Thailand in a couple
of days. I went back to Xi Men Station and walked back to my hotel. I slept alone
again.
Day 3- I woke up a little tired due to the noisy room across from mine. The walls are so thin that you can hear people's conversations. I ate breakfast in the hotel this time. It cost 190 NT$ and closes at 9:30 AM. I made it in time but there wasn't much of a selection. After breakfast I went to the MRT station and caught the line to the Taipei Zoo. Upon the second transfer, the final line was on an elevated track similar to the Sky Train in Bangkok. The entrance to the zoo was 40 NT$. I walked around looking at the various animals on display. I took the shuttle bus to the other end of the zoo to save time. After spending about a couple of hours at the zoo I decide to head back to Taipei Station. I got off and found the New World Shopping Mall right at the station. I walked around after that and then I hopped back on the MRT to Xi Men. I went to the internet café again. After checking my e-mails I went back to my room to get ready for my night out. I ate at a small eatery in Xi Men Ding. Then I took the MRT to Shihlin Night Market. This night market is huge and it's easy to get lost in there. I bought a Taiwan tourist t-shirt for 220 NT$. After a