Friday, February 21, 2014

Taiwan Itinerary

Wed 
2240H (10:40 PM)
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3
Cebu Pacific 5J 310
PhP 1,415.35 airfare,
PhP 1,620 travel tax
Php 550 terminal fee
Thu 
0040H (0:40 AM)
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1

0120H (1:20 AM)
NiHao@Taipei
No. 41, Section 1, Zhōngxiào West Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
City Air Bus No. 1601
Daily from 05:50-01:10, every 20-30 minutes, travel time 70-90 minutes.



DAY 1
THURSDAY

0700H
Wakeup call
Colder with periods of rain
16° Lo 11°
0800H
breakfast
Buy EasyCard
100 ntd deposit
100 ntd consumable
200 NTD
0900H - 1200H
Chang Kai-Shek Memorial/
National Taiwan Museum
From Ni Hao walk to Taipei Main Station (0.1km)
Take red line; stop at chang kai shek 2 stations away
20
1200H - 1300H
LUNCH
1300H
Go back to Ni Hao; transfer to Banana Hostel
Take red line from Taipei Main station, southbound, go to Dongmen station 4 stops away
Take the MRT from Taipei Main Station bound for Xiangshan (red line) and 3 stops to Dongmen Station.
Ticket fare NT$20.
1400H
Taipei 101
Go to MRT Xinyi Line in MRT Dongmen Station, alight at MRT Taipei 101/WTC Station
MRT Xiangshan Station (elephant mountain) is one stop away
MRT: NTD 20 (single journey)
16 (EasyCard)
Entrance 450 NTD; trip to top floor 500 NTD
Alternative Route: Take the Blue Line MRT to Taipei City Hall Station. If you go out of Exit 2 there is a free shuttle bus, but the line is often long and it is an easy walk. To walk from the MRT take Exit 3 and follow the sidewalk past the park on one side. You will cross a bigger pedestrian walkway and continue south. On the next block you will cross Songgao Rd. and the sidewalk will lead you past some department stores. At the next block you will have reached Songshou Rd. and you will see the former Warner Village across the street. Cross over to the Warner Village side of the street and turn right. You will come to New York New York and you will see the Statue of Liberty on the corner. Turn left here and keep walking until you see Taipei 101 on the opposite side of the street from New York NewYork. The Mall Entrance is clearly marked.
1600H
Elephant Mountain
From Taipei 101 it takes about 15 minutes to get to the start of the hiking path. Starting from the side of Taipei 101 by Xinyi road there is the word LOVE in the squared shape display. If you stand directly in front of the love display, turn the other direction and walk for a couple blocks till you reach a big intersection at Songren road. Make a right at Songren road and walk for about 10 minutes till you reach a Mcdonald's on your right, should also be a 7-eleven across the street. Cross the street towards the 7-eleven and go down the street straight ahead just to the right of 7-eleven. This is a small street with an uphill slope and you should see some signs that point towards a trail. The walk up is not exactly straight, but keep going as straight as you can without making any turns, there is one part where it forks off, stay on the right side of the street. If you managed to navigate this street correctly you will see the yellow archway to the entrance of the trails.
Getting to the trail head of the hiking trail is an easy 15 minute walk from Taipei 101. Start at Xinyi Road - Section 5 adjacent to the Taipei 101 office building. From the Taipei 101 shopping center this is in the opposite direction of Taipei City Hall. Go left and walk along Xinyi Road until you reach Songren Road (about 2 minutes walk). Keep walking straight and cross the street. At the corner you will see a sign for a residential complex called "Jasper Villa Xin". If you look on the adjacent building you will also see the New York Bagels store. Turn right and walk along Songren Road and past the Xinyi Junior High School across the road on your right. After about a 7 minute walk, look for the McDonald's Restaurant across the street on your right and the convenience store on your left (see photo). This is Zhuangjing Road. Directly in front of the convenience store there is a large street sign that says "Xiangshan Hiking Trail - 270m" with an arrow pointing down Lane 215. Walk down the lane in the direction of the arrow. At the next street, turn slightly right, cross the street, and continue walking in the same direction down Xinyi Road Lane 150 Alley 22 (a small green sign is posted on the wall). Continue walking for a few minutes until you see the sign " Xiangshan Hiking Trail - 70m". You're almost there! Follow the arrow and keep walking until you see the entrance to the trail head (see photo).

Start walking up the stone path. When you reach a fork in the path, stay to the LEFT and keep walking until you reach the rest stop. Past the rest stop the trail will fork again. Stay to the RIGHT. When the trail intersects with another trail, turn LEFT and keep walking. Shortly you will see a large rock with a painted white background and some Chinese characters. Just beyond the rock is the scenic viewing area. Once you arrive you will be glad you made the trek!
MRT Dongmen Station (for Xinzhuang Line)
Xiangshan Station - open nov 2013 - malapit lang daw to Elephant Mountain
Shilin Night Market
2000H
DINNER
2200H
LIGHTS OFF

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