Day 1: Taoyuan--Kaohsiung

Glad that the AirAsia flight touched down in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 safely and in time. After clearing the Taiwan immigration and claiming our luggage (took around 30 minutes), we proceeded to purchase Taiwan Prepaid Sim Card at arrival hall. We bought 7 days unlimited data usage with some airtime at NT500 from Chunghwa Telecom 中华电讯.

Our prepaid sim card

After that, we went one level down of the arrival ball to board the bus from airport to Taoyuan High Speed Rail (THSR) Station.

Bought UBus Ticket at NT30 per pax. The ride is around 15-20 minutes depending on traffic.

The driver sits on left-hand side of the bus in Taiwan. Ours in Malaysia is exactly opposite.

While waiting for our high speed rail at Taoyuan to Zuoying (Kaohsiung), we had our lunch at MOS 

Burger. MOS Burger can be spotted at most places in Taiwan!

MOS Menu

Sis's MOS Coffee

Sis and I had the 双人分享餐 Double Combo that comes with one Yakiniku Rice Burger 烧肉珍珠堡, one Pizza Hot Dog 义式披萨热狗, 2 pcs of Hoki Fillets, 5 pcs of Chicken Nuggets , 1 Large French Fries, 2 cups of red tea and 1 pinky MOS recycled bag at the price of NT319.

Our Double Combo

Yakiniku Rice Burger 烧肉珍珠堡

Pizza Hot Dog 义式披萨热狗

MOS Self Service Concept

We had some complications in grouping the trash! 

Used the MOS Pinky Recycled Bag instantly right after the meal =)

We collected our train ticket at the counter as we had purchased the ticket online. We thought we can depart earlier than our pre-book departure time. We went to the ticketing counter to collect the ticket. We were told to pay the price differences if we wish to board the earlier train. In the end, we decided to stick on with the pre-book departure time.

Ticket with printed departure date, time, reserved seat, train no. and method of payment. We had 20% discount from online booking. I paid NT1160 (NT1455 normal price) for the train fare per pax, We need to provide reservation number and any one passport during collection of the ticket. 

Trash Bin & Recycled Bin...this implies Taiwanese are very environmental friendly~

Drinking Fountain at Taoyuan THSR Station

Certificate of analysis (COA) of the drinking water is also shown near the fountain to verify the safety of the drinking water. How thoughtful.

Wandering around to kill some time while waiting for the train departure time

Taoyuan THSR Station

Comfy and spacious seat in the train

You can eat and drink inside the train 

Water vending machine in the train. Foods such as Bento are also sold in the train.

The journey from Taoyuan THSR Station to Zuoying THSR Station took around 1 hour 39 minutes. We walked to the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit which was just beside the THSR station to board the Kaohsiung MRT from Zuoying MRT to Sanduo Shopping District MRT to check in our room.

Read more of our Kaohsiung 3 days 2 nights accommodation ( 高雄85大樓--85童年套房花漾年華三人房) here.

After showering and refreshing ourselves, we went to Dream Mall, the largest shopping mall in Taiwan and East Asia. To go to Dream Mall, take MRT and alight at Kaisyuan MRT. We were confused which exit to board the free shuttle bus to Dream Mall. In the end, we used Exit 2 or 3 (couldn't remember which one) and we walked by foot to Dream Mall (around 10-15 minutes).

I saw Dream Mall from far!

Almost reaching~

Dream Mall Ferris Wheel...We took it at NT150 per ride per pax.

Different patterns of the Ferris wheel passengers gondolas 

View of Kaohsiung from the Ferris Wheel

My tired look during riding Ferris Wheel

Awesome view of the Ferris Wheel when the light in on~

After the ride, is time to hunt for dinner at the Dream Mall Food Court.

GeorgPeck spotted in Kaohsiung Dream Mall Food Court

Our dinner:

Sort of bento with rice, chicken, vegetables, salads and drink at NT165

I share with sis because both of us are small eaters!

Plastics handglove was given to Sis to ease the eating of the chicken without dirtying your hand~Lovely!

Another set of Bento type with soup

Both set meals were very nice and worth the price! The portion was way too big one me~Luckily we shared among the three of us~Most meals were served with drinks which we did not need to order extra drinks!

After the dinner and some walk in the Dream Mall, is time to go back to rest.

We managed to find the right exit to board the free shuttle bus back to Kaisyuan MRT and back to our room!

台北市怀宁旅店 Keymans Hotel

Strategically located along Huaining Street, Keymans Hotel is just 5+ minutes walk from Taipei Main Station using the underground Z6/Z8 exit. Family Mart (a kind of convenient store like 7 11) is 2 to 3 shops apart. McDonald's, Starbucks and 7 Eleven are just a few blocks away. Staying at Taipei Main Station is very convenient getting around and to get foods. Even Xi Men Ding is just 10 minutes walk from Keymans Hotel. To make room reservation, just browse their website and pay full room amount to secure the room.

台北市怀宁旅店 Taipei Keymans Hotel...breakfast included with room rate

automated entrance of the hotel

Keymans Hotel Triple Room (TWD 2880 for weekends & 2480 for weekdays)

Look for more triple room images in the hotel website because the actual decor and arrangement of the triple room pretty much the same with the web! (at least for the room I stayed located in the 6th floor). The room is well equipped with TV set, coffee/tea set, bottled drinking water and mini fridge too! We paid TWD13200 for 5 nights stay (2 weekends & 3 weekdays rate). Bear in mind to make room reservation as early as 4 months before the trip. Our first and second choice triple room  at Taipei Ann's House and CityInn was reserved by others 4 months before our trip!

queen bed & single bed

 I saw negative reviews of hard rock beds in Keymans Hotel but surprisingly all three of us slept soundly for our 5 nights there...(perhaps we had plenty of exercises during the day)

another sufficiently clean bathroom...basic amenities such as shower gel, hair shampoo, shower cap, toothbrush kit, hand soap and cotton buds were provided.

drinking water machine with hot & cold water outside our room

Limited buffet breakfast...breakfast is the same for EVERYDAY...same look of congee, same appearance of fried eggs, same size of bread and butter/jams, same taste of coffee/tea...luckily different type of GREENS...lolx.  I enjoyed the breakfast during my first day but I barely eat anything on the following 3 mornings...Merely look already lost appetite...I only took some for the rest of breakfast during my stay...

warm congee!

Greens, fried eggs & tofu

sides and preserved foods to complement with the congee

bread, toaster, butter block, strawberry jam block & marmalade jam block

Keymans Hotel's staffs were very friendly and helpful and ready to assist us during our stay. I enjoyed the stay very much despite same breakfast was served every morning.

85童年套房花漾年華三人房

85 Sky Tower 高雄85大樓 is an 85-floor skyscraper and is the tallest skyscraper in Kaohsiung. There are offices, residential space, department store and also hotel in the building. There are lots of company offering various kinds of room with different themes. We ended up with 85童年套房花漾年華三人房 due to its availability of triple room and affordable room tariff.

To make inquiries on the room, just emailed them and use LINE to keep contact with them. Prompt reply and clear instructions were given to me when I made inquiries and payment. I stayed 2 nights there, thus I was required to pay 1st night accommodation together (TWD1400/night) with sort of tax/service charge (TWD70) to secure my room reservation.

Kaohsiung 85 Sky Tower 高雄85大樓

From THSR Zuoying Station, take the MRT and alight at the MRT Sanduo Shopping District. Just follow the exit 1 to 85 Sky Tower and walk around 5-10 minutes until you see the 85 Sky Tower Building. 

搭高鐵至左營站下，轉搭高雄捷運小港線至三多商圈站，走1號出口沿三多四路，接自強三路左轉，即可抵達85大樓.

We went to the 85童年套房 (85 Childhood) office to pay the remaining room payment TWD 1400 (must be paid by CASH) and collected our keys. The staff guided us to our room and explained briefly on the amenities. We were told that the hot water supply may not be consistent due to the high usage of the voltage in the building.

A room for 3 pax

TWD 1400 per night (weekdays) 

Purple color wallpaper with nice pictures decoration...we love it

Queen Bed for two....comfy

Single bed for one (ignore the belt under the pillow please =))

sufficiently clean bathroom

our room was equipped with TV set and mini fridge

Dress table with hair dryer, towels and  basic shower necessities were provided. 

The hair dryer was rather old and slow, causing the whole dryer shaking tremendously when I dried my hair. 

mini fridge to store cold stuffs!

bottled drinking water, kettle, coffee & green tea bag were provided too

Last night before we checked out on the following day, I dropped some comments in the notebook in the room. Guests were welcomed to write down their staying experiences in the notebook.

Perhaps a lot of guests were using the electricity in the building at night, our electronic appliances was unable to charge on certain electric point located in the room. 

There was one 7 11 store in the 85 Sky Tower itself. Bought Sweet Potato Red Bean Dessert and Lays Seaweed Potato Chips for supper~~ Asked the 7 11 staff to warm the dessert using microwave..I think there were at least FIVE 7 11 stores or Family Mart stores if you walk from the MRT Sanduo Shopping District station to the 85 Sky Tower. So you won't have to walk too far to make any purchases =)

I even LINE 85 Childhood on weather in Kaohsiung 3 days before the trip =) Indeed it was super sunny hot there!