Day 2: Taipei (Maokong 貓空 > Taipei Main Underground Shopping Street 台北地下街 > Qsquare 京站時尚廣場)

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Day 1: Changi Airport > Taoyuan Airport > Taipei > Hsinchu > Neiwan

Day 2: Taipei (Maokong > Taipei Main Underground Shopping Street > Qsquare)

Day 3: Taipei (Wu Fen Pu > Eslite > Taipei Main Underground Shopping Street > Ningxia Night Market)

Day 4: Taipei > Taichung (Taichung Train Station > Miyahara Ophthalmology Department > Fengjia Night Market)

 Day 5: Taichung (Rainbow Military Dependents` Village > Great Buddha of Baguashan > Lukang Old Street > Taiwan Glass Gallery & Glass Temple > Gao Mei Wetlands)

Day 6: Taichung (Stock 20 > Taichung Park > Yizhong Shopping Street)
Day 7: Taichung > Kaohsiung (Formosa Boulevard > Dream Mall > Ruifeng Night Market > Hanshin Departmental Store > Liuhe Night Market)

Day 8: Kaohsiung > Kenting 墾丁(Fu An Temple 福安宮 > Eternal Flame 出火特別景觀區(恆春出火) > Jialeshuei Scenic Area 佳樂水風景區 > Longpan Park 龍磐公園 > Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻灯塔>  ShaDao Eco-Protection Area 砂島生態保護區> Chuanfanshih 船帆石 > White Sand Bay 白沙灣)

Day 9: Kaohsiung (Cijin Island > The British Consulate at Takao > 壽山LOVE情人觀景台 > Kaohsiung Martyrs' Shrine > Takao Railway Museum > The Pier-2 Art Center > Love River Ai He > Lotus Pond > Kaohsiung Airport)

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Our accommodation package don't include breakfast so... breakfast hunting was required.
Just around the corner is our favorite place for breakfast!! 

Ham Egg Crepe with sweet sauce 


Going Maokong? It's a breeze with the metro line. 

From Taipei Main Station, either via: 
1. The blue line towards Nangang station and transfer at Zhongxiao Fuxing station to the brown line towards the Taipei Zoo (NT$35) or 
2. Board the red line towards Xiangshan and transfer at Daan station to the brown line towards the Taipei Zoo 

From Taipei Zoo station, exit from the train station and follow the signs for Maokong. Walk roughly 5-10mins towards the Maokong Gondola if you opt for the cable car. 


We went there on a Saturday and oh my gosh! The queue is long by the time we reach at 12.30pm. Surprisingly, we only took around 30 mins to take the cable car

Note: there are 2 types of cable car: regular cable car and crystal cable car. We bought the tickets for regular cable car (NT$50 each/per way) on the spot. Seemed that those who queued for the crystal cable car were by reservation. The types were differentiated only at level 4 queue. On the 1st level, everyone had to queue in the same line regardless of the cable car type. 

The differences I saw was the crystal cable car has a see-through bottom. 

The cable car ride goes to 4 stations, and the last stop is Maokong Station and is approx 20mins~30mins. That was the stop we alighted at for the tea!

I wanted to stay there longer. First was the queue for the cable car to return to metro station was freaking long! Second, we had an appointment at evening hours so we had to stick to our schedule. And lastly and most important, the streets are filled with teahouses!! 
I could have spend my whole day just to stay there and eat sweets and drink teas.

Near the exit of Maokong cable car station, there was a map to guide you around. There were signboards everywhere and you won't get lost. Also, near the bustop, there are cabs if you need a comfortable (could be costly) way to get around.




 We ended up walking a distance not far from the cable car station and went for a sumptuous meal and appreciate tea.

The view from where we had our lunch at

The sun ray!!

Entrance/Exit of the eatery 

XO Cabbage

Red Tea Tofu

Steam Chicken with Ginger and Spring Onion

A costly meal it was. The bill came up to NT$1400 (including a bag of tea. yes! A bag! They bring a new bag of tea leaves and open it on the spot to brew. If you can't finished the whole bag, the remaining you can bring home. I guess it's approx. 75g to 100g for that bag.)

After lunch, we headed back to Taipei Main Station via the cable car. There were buses available but the crowd at the bustop and crowd on the bus deterred us from boarding/queuing. Moreover, we didn't know how long the journey will be via bus. 

Once again, the queue for cable car was long... But fast moving. So don't be discourage to join the queue.

View from the cable car downwards 

The view from Taipei Zoo Station towards Taipei Main Station

Once again.. I accomplished my 8600 steps for the day (before evening hours)!

Dinner time!! 
At our friend's recommendation, we headed for Ten Kichi Ya (天吉屋) @ Qsquare for dinner. 
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! 
If you are a fan of ginza tendon itsuki or tempura stuffs, the tempura from Ten Kichi Ya @ Qsquare is not to be missed! 

It was approx. NT$270~NT$320 per tempura don. 
We tried Ten Kichi Don and Pork Don. It is delicious!!! 




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