Visiting Taiwan: The Capital City, Taipei (Part 3)

On our ninth and last day in Taiwan, we decided to get some shopping done. Unfortunately, most of the clothes on offer in Taipei were more suited for the cold weather. Hence, in the end, I did not purchase many items. However, even if you do not enjoy shopping, you can still head to Taipei Main Station where they is a huge labyrinth of underground shopping malls.

Before starting your underground shopping, it is wise to look at the map of the area and to plan your route carefully. The mall runs from this station all the way to Zhong Shan and Shuanglian Station so do wear comfortable shoes if you plan to walk the entire stretch. For your information, you will also find shoes here on sale for about TWD 200.

After exploring the long stretch of underground mall, we then boarded the subway again. Instead of walking all the way back to Taipei Main Station, we just hopped onto the subway at Zhong Shan station towards Ximending station as we had walked the entire stretch!

From the MRT station, we crossed over to the Red House Theater (紅樓劇場). It has an antiquated exterior which is red (obviously!) and it will be easy to spot from the exit. Inside, there is a cafe and the place is also filled will small shops which sell lots of cute figurines, t-shirts and basically many items which would make good souvenirs. Outside the Red House Theater, you can also find some random indie bands performing. T-shirts were also on sale at the outdoor stalls during our visit.

After visiting the Red House Theater, we crossed the road towards Eslite 116. There is a Daiso outlet here at the top level. Inside this small mall, you will also find an AKB48 cafe and souvenir shop. For fans of this mega popular Japanese girl band, you should not miss this opportunity. For those coming from Singapore, you can probably skip this as there is also an outlet in Singapore!

Further away from the MRT station, there are many other smaller shops selling a variety of clothes, shoes and accessories. You will also find many cafes with different themes. Some are rather popular and it would be best to book in advance to avoid disappointment. Some of the more popular ones are like the Modern Toilet Restaurant and Wa Wa Wow (Doll Forest Cafe).

After a quick dinner at one of the many cafes at Ximending, we then hailed a cab towards the West Bus Terminal A Station. For those, who are staying nearby Taipei Main Station, you will be glad to know that the bus terminal can be reached via a link from Taipei Main Station.

At the bus terminal, we purchased tickets for the Kuo Kuang Bus to the Taoyuan International Airport. Each ticket costs TWD 125 as of December 2012. Once you have your tickets, queue at the right line and soon it will be your turn to board the bus as there are buses leaving for the airport about every 20 minutes.

At the airport, we were lucky enough to spot the filming of a scene from the upcoming Taiwanese remake of Korean drama, "You're Beautiful". Unfortunately, the staff prevented us from taking photos. Oh well! We still went home happy and satisfied with our nine-day trip to Taiwan!