Onto my trip to Taiwan! I had so much planned for my first day that even I was surprised I was able to keep to my insane schedule. Haha.

Starting in the morning, I was pretty much tossing and turning until I got up at 5:45am to leave for the airport. I took the subway to Central and got my boarding pass before proceeding towards the airport. By the time I got through the gates I finally had time to grab breakfast. I had been trying to empty out all my HKD from my wallet to replace with NTD, but I somehow mistakenly tried paying for breakfast at Cafe de Coral with NTD. Apparently I am incapable of telling apart my currencies. (T__T)

Afterwards I waited by the gates till it was time for boarding. We had to be driven out to the plane from the boarding gates. I think it was the first time I’ve done that in HKG. The flight itself was pretty decent and the lineup at customs was short, so I was pretty lucky I made it out of the airport a little ahead of schedule. After picking up my bus ticket, I was on my way to Taipei! I arrived at the main station around 1pm, then walked over to meet J & Y at their hotel. I was super excited to see them again. And to be able to travel together outside of Japan made the trip even more special. =)

We walked together back to the main station to buy our tickets to Ruifang station. Their train system is a little confusing, so we spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to pay for our tickets. Once we got past the ticket gates, I beelined for the convenience store to grab a quick bite before we left for the tracks. The entire ride to Ruifang Station was about 45 minutes. When we got there we found out that it was pouring rain. Initially we walked over to the bus stop hoping to take the bus towards Jiufen, but we found out afterwards that the bus stop moved, so we had to hurry over to catch the bus about two blocks down.

It was still pouring rain when we got off the bus, so I had to quickly purchase an umbrella before heading towards the old street. I didn’t really have a lot of time in Jiufen, so I spent about 30 minutes walking up [while ducking umbrellas along the way] till I reached the viewpoint. Even with all the fog and rain, Jiufen is pretty breathtaking. After snapping a few photos quickly, I had to bid goodbye to my friends before heading back down.

I had made a point to scope out the places I wanted to eat at while I was coming up, so I did manage to eat a couple things on the way back. First was Lai Ah Po’s 芋圓 (I ate the cold version). Second were fishballs from Chang’s. I was so rushed for time that I disregarded how hot the fish balls were and pretty much inhaled the whole bowl. Aside from completely burning my mouth, I was very content. =P

I was worried I would be late for the train if I waited for the bus, so I took a taxi back to the station, which cost NT$180. It was a bit of a wet train ride back to the main station. Even though I was only outside for an hour or so, I was pretty soaked. My shoes were super wet too. After getting back to the station I beelined for the washroom to change, then I had to find a locker to store all my luggage before finally taking the MRT to Ximen Station to meet D. I swear I was only like 5 mins late by the time I got out of Ximen Station. Lol.

Ximending still looked the same as I remembered it from 6 years ago. It’s kind of like the Times Square/Shibuya of Taipei. It was my first time meeting D and I’m glad we were able to find each other. There’s sort of a story behind how we were introduced. It sort of started with my need to see Eddie in Taipei during his stage greeting for the new Wong Fei Hung movie. Lol. I won’t get into too much details about the amount of time and effort I spent hounding people to help me get these movie tickets, but I will say that I’m extremely grateful that I got to see the movie and him in person. =)

By the time we got to the Ambassador Theater, there was already a huge lineup in front to pick up tickets for the movie. D was asking me if they had my information on file. To be honest I wasn’t even sure how I was going to get my tickets. As I got to the front, the lady at the table asked me for my phone number. When I explained to her that I didn’t have a local number since I live overseas, she was like, “Oh you’re that 陳珮怡小姐!” (Me thinking: ‘Oh sh!t, I’ve hounded these people so much they know me by name.’). (T__T)

After that embarrassing situation, I grabbed my tickets and the complimentary poster, then D and I went for dinner nearby. I’m so glad I didn’t have to place the food order myself. I picked out what I wanted to eat from the menu, then D graciously went to order and paid for all of the food. (Everything was super yummy btw. Thanks for dinner!)

After dinner we went back to the theatre as it was nearing time for the movie. Right in the lobby they placed a display showing Wei Wuji’s costume from the drama. I was already embarrassed going to this movie with someone I just met, so even though D had offered to take a photo for me, I had to restrain myself from posing with the WWJ mannequin. Haha

The movie itself wasn’t bad for a reboot of the franchise, but I’m pretty sure Jet Li trumps Eddie in the role. Even before the movie credits started rolling I could already make out a bunch of people moving towards the stage. By the time the lights turned on, there was a crowd of girls hovering in front with their cameras and cellphones out. (I really have to apologize to D, cause I think 95% of the people at the movie were female lol.)

As expected there was a frenzy the moment Eddie stepped out. As I was seated in row 20, I was pretty far away from the stage. Even though we moved a couple rows ahead when the aisles started to clear, I was nowhere close enough to take any good shots of him. At least I had my glasses on so I could somewhat make out Eddie’s face. =P

By the time the stage greeting finished and we filed out of the theatre, it was close to 10pm. D showed me around Ximending and I bought my first bubble tea there – all of NT$35! Overall I’m super glad I didn’t have to go to the movie by myself, especially since D was so nice. It’s always great to meet new people while traveling. After an extremely long day, I navigated back to Taipei Main Station on my own to track down where I left my luggage. Then I was off to my hotel for a much needed good night’s sleep. =)