Nearly missed breakfast today, fortunately we made it for the very last serving and ate our fill. Bought a single journey pass, for a moment we thought we would be getting a card just like in Singapore but that was not the case.

They are using a token instead, it functions just like a card, you scan it like how you would usually do. And when you reach the destination, you will drop this token into the coin slot on the machines.

METRO token

Went shopping around SOGO Departmental Store at Zhong Xiao Fu Xing, we arrived early and so the entrance was not open yet. There would be staff positioned at the entrance greeting you when you come into their store, and this is what I mean by really welcome. By now, I have realised in 95% of the shops in Taiwan, you would be greeted with a “歡迎光臨” but this treatment goes way beyond that.

They would stand at the door, and greet you as you come in. In the lift as well, these girls would take turns to ‘escort’, (not sure if this is the right word) you to the next floor. When you have reached your destination, the girl would hand over to another. This is really good service.

Walked through the underground mall of Zhong Xiao Fu Xing to Zhong Xiao Dun Hua, I can conclude that there really isn’t anything that caught my eye and that Zhong Xiao Fu Xing can be considered a mini Japan, judging from the products they are selling, don’t know how true is that either.

Headed for Vieshow Cinema to get the tickets for tonight’s movie: ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End’. This was supposed to be known as Warner Village before, but I didn’t see any representation of Warner Bros. The movie ticket cost a whooping 395 NT, should we be complaining that cinema tickets in Singapore are too expensive?

Had our lunch at New York New York thenafter. Had Beef Pasta and it was really good, much better than Pastamania and the shaved ice was simply fabulous, all these for less than 10 SGD.

Made our way to Taipei 101 and some photos.
Really liked this structure outside of Taipei 101. The ball being held majestically in the core with streams of life endlessly and conscientiously being given to it. Just trying to describe this structure, so don’t bother understanding that line.

Structure outside Taipei 101

We did not want to go up to the observatory tower so quickly. So we spent our time walking around the mall which is only about 4 stories high. Progressing through each level seems like we are reaching deeper into our wallets to browse their catalog of products for sale. The higher we go, the higher priced the items for sale are.

Finally we are heading up to buy our tickets. Thanks to our “Let’s Be Friends” Youth Travel Card, we got a discount. A cute girl was serving us, so what a treat for us!

Into the fastest lift in the world we go, within moments we are on the 89th storey. The staff would converse in 3 different languages, English, Mandarin and Japanese, somehow I feel that they have got it all memorized in their heads.

These 2 photos are my personal favorites in Taipei 101.

This really caught my attention, I simply took this picture, completely oblivious of what a treat I would get. If I could describe it in a short yet sophisticated way, I would say: “God reaches out to Taipei“, simply too beautiful for words alone.

Touch of God

I made a daring mistake by not charging my phone before leaving. As a result, I was literally begging my phone to stay alive to be able to capture the beautiful view Taipei 101 had to offer. I had to attempt switching it on, and somehow it manages to find that 0.5% of battery power to fire this shot and I am so glad I was able to capture this.

Taken on the 92nd storey. Sun setting from afar, never have I got the chance to witness the sun setting on the city.

Sun set on Taipei

The night view of Taipei on the observatory of Taipei 101 is truly a sight to behold. Glittering lights, a gold chain of fills all around the city. Went through a video of the process of how Taipei 101 was built.

Had dinner at McDonald’s. This is not an ordinary meal you see in Singapore.

They had a very special meal called a 3 piece chicken meal, no this is not McWings but rather similar to the ones KFC has. The way the cashiers are dressed are also relatively different, no more boring shirts and pants. They are donning more stylish uniforms, a casual blue baseball t-shirt if I am not wrong, that looks way more cooler than what we have here.

Movie at Vieshow Cinemas it is. It is really big, there are like more than 15 theatres. When we walked past the food and beverages counter, they were trying to promote their items. You don’t see that happening in Cathay or GV for that matter. Taiwanese really take pride in the jobs they do and slacking is never an option for them based on what I see.

The seats were average but what captured me was the screen and sound system, it was indescribably wide and that made our movie experience even better. The sound system made the effects so surreal.

This show was really great. The end of the series I presume, filled with unraveled action scenes just like in the previous 2 episodes. Twisting around the conclusion seems to be their favorite game but this makes the movie even more exciting than it is before. The plot may take a little time to digest as a lot of story lines were thrown in but at the end of the day, all of their motives is the same - to realize their desires, be it love or piracy. What a great show! You must watch it at all cost.

As it was already midnight, we had to take a cab back. There was no taxi stand queue, there was simply a huge line of taxis parked by the curb, at least a good 15 and so we hopped onto 1 and back we were in TS Hotel ready to prepare for the next day. A full day of shopping at Wu Fen Pu (Similar to Bugis Street).