Taiwan 2019 - Introduction

Meet the gang (L-R): Steve, Grace and Krishan

So... my last international travel before the pandemic broke out was on October 2019 to Taipei, Taiwan. As far as I remember, it was a planned trip for my yearly international "gala" (since 2015, I told myself that every year starting that year, I would at least go to a new place for an adventure). I was fortunate that time because I wasn't alone. I was with Steve and Grace. Our friendship goes way back college days. We're all engineering students from Saint Louis University, Baguio City.

As the "pasimuno" of the trip, I did most of the planning and booking (accommodation, flights, tours, wifi and what-nots). Here's the "High Level" draft itinerary I prepared (as copied from the original .txt file):

Day 0 Thu: 10/17
Arrival
Accommodation
	- https://www.agoda.com/3-6-people-room-opposite-taipei-station/hotel/taipei-tw.html
	- near Taipei Station (how to go details in Line)
	- Address: Unit 39, 14th flr., no. 50, Section 1, Zhongxiao West Road, Zhongzhen District, Taipei City
	- Contact: Sean Chang +886931888288
		
Day 1 Fri: 10/18
Leader = Krishan
Support = Steve
Yehliu, Jiufen, and Shifen Day Tour with Taiwanese Pastry Making
	- https://www.klook.com/en-PH/activity/13827-yehliu-jiufen-shifen-tour-pastry-making-taipei/
Dinner at Ningxia Night Market

Day 2 Sat: 10/19
Leader = Steve
Support = Grace
Longshan Temple
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple (Taoist)
Taipei Confucius Temple
- Lunch-
	: Din Tai Fung Xinyi Store (MRT Dongmen Station Exit 5)
National Palace Museum
Martyr's Shrine (watch changing of guards)
Chiang Kai Shek Memorial
Taipei 101
*** Elepehant Mountain
	= if you want to hike, approx. 30 mins.
	= free view of Taipei Skyline at night
Dinner at Raohe Night Market

Day 3 Sun: 10/20
Leader = Grace
Support = Steve
*** AM ***
Maokong Gondola
	- https://www.klook.com/en-PH/activity/16000-maokong-gondola-combo-ticket-taipei/
Lunch at a Tea House (research for the best place)
*** PM ***
YouBike at National Taiwan University
Shopping and Food Trip at Ximending
Buy Souvenirs!
Taipei Double-Decker Sightseeing Night Bus (see Maokong Gondola Klook link above)
Dinner at Shilin Night Market or at Addiction Aquatic Development

Day 4 Mon: 10/21
Leader = Krishan
Support = Grace
Taichung Classic Day Tour from Taipei
	- https://www.klook.com/en-PH/activity/23958-classic-day-tour-taipei-taichung/
Dinner
	- Mala Hot Pot (https://danielfooddiary.com/2019/01/25/malahotpot/)
	- Ximending Branch: 2F, No. 30, Xining South Rd., Wanhua District, Taipei City 108, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
	

Day 5 Tue: 10/22
Departure (10:45 AM flight TPE-MNL)
Latest departure from Taipei Station (MRT) must be at 8AM

It was Grace's first time to travel abroad and I was super excited for her. You've probably noticed in the draft that I assigned a "Leader" and a "Support" for each day of the trip so that I won't carry all the burden of all the tasks in the trip. Also, I thought, this would encourage my co-travelers to also prepare for the day/s they been assigned to as the leader (in charge of navigation and some level of decision-making) and I hoped that through that they'd be inspired and excited for our trip. But we've talked amongst ourselves that we won't strictly follow the itinerary. Besides being a draft, it just served as a guide and gave us a glimpse on how our vacation would look and feel like. But basically, that is just my way of doing DIY trips. 

Some of the things that we weren't able to do/follow strictly were:

• eat at the original store of Din Tai Fung (because there was a huge crowd when we got there). Instead, we ate at their Taipei 101 branch.

• hike the Elephant Mountain (I think it was already late so we just opted to skip it). But we'll definitely go there on the next trip to Taiwan!

• go biking at the National University. We spent a huge chunk of time in Maokong, we got lost and tired (but we were still happy) and just decided to skip to Shopping and food trip at Ximending.

• eat at a hot pot restaurant on the last night. I was planning that as my treat to Steve and Grace but plans changed and we did a last minute souvenir shopping (I think... Now I can't remember where we ate dinner. 😅 Maybe I'll see in the pics 🤷).

With all the planning and preparations, we still managed to enjoy ourselves on the trip. Definitely unforgettable and I promised myself that I will be back! 🤞

Now... On to sifting the pics for the next posts 💪