Taipei solo trip 2019

This was the last trip I took back in Oct 2019 before the Covid era hit. Little did I know that travel would be prohibited soon after this trip.

My Comicon dream went to dust even after they offered to roll over my badges to 2021, because by then, my wanderlust was sort of evaporated by all the drama that ensued in other countries during the pandemic. A certain leader was helming the US at the time and the emergent culture in that country was a big turn off for me. I decided to cancel everything and got my refund for all my comicon badges and hotels in San Diego and began to be a real homebody after that.

Added to that, I left my job in 2020 as well and naturally took a long break from travel and leisure even after the pandemic died down as I needed the time put my lifeback on track. I guess the world made alot more sense while hiding in my cosy small flat for the next few years.

It is 2023 now, and I am about to fly again after 4 whole years. I suddenly realised that this Taipei trip had not been documented yet, so here we are trying to dredge up whatever remnant memories I have of the trip and put it down into words before even those puff into nothingness.

Back to Taipei trip (solo) #3 in Oct 2019.

I still went back to stay in the heart of XMD (Ximending) because the lodgings were still cheap and nice. It was also easy to travel from the area and of course all the great foods could be found there. My objectives for this third solo trip (apart from the mental break from work and such) were threefold: Go forth to North Taipei to touch a landmark to fulfill the touristy bug I had (I had already done the far east, west and south of the Taipei). This would be done in day 1.

Day 2 would be spent covering cafes, spas, and craft beer joints which I had researched before flying over. Day 3 will be more reminiscent food before flying home. Short and sweet.

As memories of the trip are already fading into a blur, I have decided to split this blog into the above same 3 sections, instead of the normal day-to-day journaling.

So here we go.

Travel Exploration:

The route I took would take me northwards by bus and train to the National Palace Museum. Yeah always wanted to eyeball the place. Standard grandiose structures were found there, filled with prominence and Chinese architecture. Also there were many many tourists but the weather was cool and gloomy and I had zero complaints.

Within the cool museum were olden Taiwanese artifacts that thankfully had english descriptions, which allowed me to learn slightly more about this country’s capital.

Lastly, there was also a cool garden beside the Museum call the the Zhishan Garden. It was quite famous for its beauty and I spent a bit of time capture the scenery and fantasizing about svelte, young, pretty swordswomen, trailing their long diaphanous gowns as they skipped over the emerald ponds, defying gravity and battling one another within intricate pagodas with the music of a chinese orchestra swelling in the background.

Lastly, there was also a cool garden beside the Museum call the the Zhishan Garden. It was quite famous for its beauty and I spent abit of time capture the scenery and fantasizing about svelte, young, pretty swordswomen, trailing their long diaphanous gowns as they skipped over the emerald ponds, defying gravity and battling one another within intricate pagodas with the music of a chinese orchestra swelling in the background.

Away from fantasy land, the evening of day 1 and 2 were spent checking out some special bars which boasted in house craft beers. I went to like 6 or 7 combined, but a few of them stood out enough to be written about:

HANKO 60 如醉如夢

This was the trending craft beer cum speakeasy hidden bar concept in Taipei at the time (according to the internet), and it was within walking distance from XMD. Of course I had to take a look! The exterior was purposely dressed with a closed down cinema facade, complete with 2 age-old posters.

Within however, was less chill speakeasy bar and more red-light, trumming night club complete with full tables, no walking space and young men and women in full clubbing attire watching and being watched.

Yeah I gathered I was a bit out of this age bracket. But the place was good, service was decent, despite the crammed joint, and the cocktails were inventive and delicious.

Carnegies Taipei

Just found out that this place closed down in 2022. RIP. but it was pretty decent when I was there. It was Taipei’s answer to Hard Rock Cafes everywhere. booming rock music, nice food, and decent beer.

Redpoint Brewing

This was a prettier version of Brewerks. Friendly young lady bartender and server. Great bites and delicious craft beer selection. There was a decent crowd in the evening and I enjoyed the generally pleasant.

Food glorious food!

Special shout-out to Ling Dong Fang, that amazing beef noodles – they had evolved from a street-side open air thing with a huge pot of beef soup at the entrance to this nice delicate 2-storey restaurant. Prices went up for sure but at least the quality was not compromised.

The Lu Rou Fan was stupendous as usual. I had it both mornings. Simple, inexpensive and delicious to boot. Nothing can beat this back in Singapore.