Taiwan Taoyuan Day 01
touched down at taoyuan international airport near noon and clearing the immigration was a breeze. was expecting a crowd similar to hong kong international airport, but it turned out otherwise. due to the fast clearance, we waited at the belt for our luggage for a good 10 minutes.
our 1st task at the arrival hall was to purchase the prepaid data sim. there are various tourist service counters on our right after we passed through the glass doors of the restricted area. there are 2 operators for telecommunication services and we chose taiwan mobile 台灣大哥大 as it will be good to have some additional value in the card for calling/sms purpose (more for communicating with parents back home). we purchased 10 day pass at NT$800. package includes unlimited data usage available for 10 days plus airtime NT$550. staff at counter was friendly and helpful - highlighted to us on how to make international calls and activating the data for us.
after settling the data sim, we explored the bus station for buses to get to zhongli city. we found a service to zhongli rail station where we had to transit for another 30 minutes (walk plus public bus) to get to hotel kuva chateau. dear decided to be nice to me and we took a cab straight to our destination. *beams*
the journey was less than 20 minutes and the fare was NT$550. we would have saved more than half the amount if we had taken the bus, but traveling time would have been more than double as well. nevertheless, thank you dear. *muacks*
hotel and room were very much within my expectations - old but well maintained as per mentioned in online reviews.
according to my short research done the night before, there were limited things to do in this city. our 1st stop was to SOGO where we spent less than half an hour to explore all 8 floors. reasons being shopping was not part of my agenda for this trip and the toys department was a disappointment.
proceeded for lunch at sushi express as per dear's recommendation. did not expect our 1st meal to be japanese but it was definitely value for money.
it started to get a little chilly as opposed to the sun that greeted us when we landed. paid a visit to the park opposite the hotel whilst on our way back to grab our jackets. i was surprised by the number of locals who brought their kids and pets to the park within the 2 hours (the park was deserted looking when we passed by on our way out).
asked for directions at the conceirge to the nearby night market only to realise it was so near the hotel and we missed it on the map. *sheepish look* took a short rest before our food hunt at 6pm. it was absolutely hard to resist all the yummy food but i had to do so in order to fit into the gowns tomorrow. guess i sort of succumbed to 50% of the temptations. *bleah*
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| waiting to board at changi airport |
our 1st task at the arrival hall was to purchase the prepaid data sim. there are various tourist service counters on our right after we passed through the glass doors of the restricted area. there are 2 operators for telecommunication services and we chose taiwan mobile 台灣大哥大 as it will be good to have some additional value in the card for calling/sms purpose (more for communicating with parents back home). we purchased 10 day pass at NT$800. package includes unlimited data usage available for 10 days plus airtime NT$550. staff at counter was friendly and helpful - highlighted to us on how to make international calls and activating the data for us.
after settling the data sim, we explored the bus station for buses to get to zhongli city. we found a service to zhongli rail station where we had to transit for another 30 minutes (walk plus public bus) to get to hotel kuva chateau. dear decided to be nice to me and we took a cab straight to our destination. *beams*
the journey was less than 20 minutes and the fare was NT$550. we would have saved more than half the amount if we had taken the bus, but traveling time would have been more than double as well. nevertheless, thank you dear. *muacks*
hotel and room were very much within my expectations - old but well maintained as per mentioned in online reviews.
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| hotel kuva chateau |
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| our room for the next 2 days |
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| bathroom |
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| decided to do away with our jackets |
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| level 7 corridor |
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| lift lobby |
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| nice sculpture beside ground level lobby |
proceeded for lunch at sushi express as per dear's recommendation. did not expect our 1st meal to be japanese but it was definitely value for money.
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| free hot green tea and all plates were a flat NT$30 each |
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| chanced upon a procession |
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| guang ming park |
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| zhongli night market |
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| dear ordered the normal taiwan sausage by mistake |
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| a must try! simply love the peppery green onion filling *yums* |
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| i finished it all despite having to watch my diet - need to say more?! |
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| much as dear was stuffed, we shared a mini pearl milk tea =) |
contacted lily, our make-up artist cum coordinator for the shoot. the photographer and herself dropped by our room to discuss on the plans for tomorrow. dear found the photographer familiar and vice versa. he told us his chinese name and it did not ring a bell. was telling dear that he resembles rex from luv addict whom we were considering as our actual day photographer and he said he is rex! what a coincidence and i must say it was a pleasant one for me (at least for now). we are sort of expecting certain standards judging from his works which i have been following. *keeping fingers crossed*
countdown to wedding day : 244