Nothing planned for the day as we knew that the Taiwan mornings were usually least productive as the shops don’t open till noon. As we had a plane to catch at 4pm, we were just taking it in our stride.
Only managed to checked out after 10am and went over to the MRT, having breakfast en-route to the train. There was a area that consolidated some of the shops like a food court and we had some Taiwanese food there.
Took the MRT one stop down to Ximen stop for the shopping area Ximending.
It seemed like nothing much have changed since we last been there. Ximending was just waking up from its slumber, at 11 plus. Most shops were still closed so we made the most out of the visit by shopping in those that were opened. Spotted some stores selling foodstuff and regretted immediately that we should eaten here instead.
Shopped around till it was 12 and returned to the hotel for our luggage using the MRT. Bought some lunch including one that was named under the Railway company’s name. It wasn’t tasty as we found out after eating but it would do as lunch. Then it was HSR NT150 per pax back to Taoyuan.
There was a check in served available at Tao Yuan HSR station. It was pretty convenient as we need not tug the luggage to take the shuttle bus back to airport and also proceed to immigration without having to queue at the airport. The only problem was that there were limited counters and had to queue for a bit before getting our tickets.
Used the Wifi at Taoyuan HSR station before hopping on the Ubus 705 (NT30, payment at counter at the line itself, located just outside the entrance) to the airport. Final last minutes shopping for Taiwanese goodies where though these were limited to products from established stores. The shopping area did have a couple of big brand names too and as we found out, were mirror image for both boarding sides.
Waited at the gate till the boarding that was on time and the rest was a smooth flight home.
This trip meant to be a short one for us to escape Singapore to relax. It could have been longer if not for the expectancy and the uncertainty that comes with traveling pregnant but it met our expectations for the trip. It was also a nice time to return to Taiwan after 5yrs.
