Finally getting started on this! I hope you'll enjoy the journey with me as I look back on my most recent trip to Taipei, Taiwan. This is a particularly significant trip as I finally made the leap of faith, to go places alone. And just to illustrate how much I enjoyed it, I have made a decision to travel alone once each year, destination and duration will not matter. =)
And so, here we go!
For starters, this was very much an impulse trip in which, my total planning for it came up to about 1.5 weeks, and that count started after I bought my tickets and accommodation to Taipei via AirAsiaGo.
The reasons why I like AirAsiaGo is because it's fuss-free and one doesn't have to go through another round of decision making when searching for places to stay, and making booking mistakes like booking for one less night - trust me, this has happened before. Also, I personally think that AirAsiaGo packages are pretty decently priced, though you'll tend to get not-so-favourable flight times. But
that I can do with. The other caveat is that when booking flights through AirAsiaGo, you get no other amenities, so, no baggage allowance, no meals etc. And that's where the "hidden costs" are. I don't recall ever paying so much for 20kg's baggage allowance (RM79 one way if I had not mistaken!) So, be prepared for that too.
I started my trip on what I would consider a really good note, in that my KLIA express train ticket from KL Sentral to KLIA2 was discounted. Apparently, it was a promotion made known to the public via local newspapers but as you might not know, yours truly does not look into the papers. In any case, there was this nice uncle dressed in uniform who was at the ticketing counter and he was telling passengers about buying tickets via the newly installed credit card kiosk and with any Visa card, you'd get to purchase your ticket with a discount. And who doesn't love discounts?
I certainly do. Too bad the promo was only for the month of October, if I am not wrong.
So I got to KLIA2, and the Dad was waiting for me to have lunch together before I flew. It is noteworthy that I was not the only one excited about my solo trip. Both my old folks were either really excited for me as well, or they were just worried about their demure and innocent daughter going overseas all alone. Ha!
I had this fantastic fusion pizza at one of the restaurants near the main entrance to the departure hall and Dad had his usual aglio e olio, and both dishes were really yummy, so much so I ate a wee bit too much and didn't end up touching my nasi lemak at all which I had pre-booked for my flight, since I would only be arriving Taoyuan at 10ish-pm, I figured I'd be needing dinner because if I had to look for my hostel in the dead of the night on an empty stomach, that would not have been pleasant. So yes.
Immigration was a breeze and I boarded my flight, said a quick little prayer and I was sound asleep before takeoff - my usual modus operandi. I woke up 2 hours into the flight to a headache, and seeing that I had another 1+ hours into the flight, I decided to pop some panadols to make the pain go away and resumed sleeping.. And then it was touchdown and I was super eager to get my very pink luggage from the carousel and get to my hostel for the night so much so I barely paid attention to the airport except for the fact that it had free wifi. Don't say that's not the first thing you do when you touchdown at any foreign airport because that's a lie!
And I'm really quite apologetic that this is turning out to be much wordier than I had expected, it's partially because I had packed my camera into my luggage because I figured that there wouldn't be anything exciting for me to take photos of at this point anyway. So Day 1 really does not have any photos to show..
Collected my baggage, texted my parents to say that "I couldn't have missed my baggage from a mile away" and said that I'll text them again when I get to my hostel. Looked for the signboard which would ultimately lead me to the bus that everyone takes into Taipei from Taoyuan - the Kuo-Kuang 1819 bus which costs 125NTD.
They actually tag your luggage as you board the bus from the airport so when you alight, they can ensure that you are not taking someone else's luggage with you. I found that very thoughtful, though a little time and effort consuming on the driver's side.
My stop was the final stop at Taipei Main Station and knowing that I was going to be alone with no one to depend on, I was prepared. I had the map to my hostel in my backpack along with detailed directions. The hunt for
Homey Hostel was on! Super glad that I decided to pack light to go so it was not a problem lugging my baggage up and down the pedestrian bridge to get to my hostel, coming back is a different story, you'll just have to wait till Day 7 to get to that part.
Was I scared being all alone, at midnight, in an unfamiliar town, trying to navigate my way via a map? You bet I was, noting that I'm not fond of maps and directions to begin with. And I'm not afraid to admit it. I was a little afraid that I'd not find my hostel, what happens then? As I walked back and forth a couple of times, checking my map in hand to ensure that I was in the right direction, I finally, spotted the brightly lit Homey Hostel signboard and I was the happiest girl of the hour. At that moment, I knew the world was mine to conquer, dramatic much! I was also super glad that my bag had wheels so I just rolled it everywhere. Super convenient.
Made my to Level 7, where the hostel was based and was directed to the counter to collect my keycard, which is an arrangement that all travelers staying at Homey would encounter if they are checking in past 10.30pm. Rolled my bag along with me through the common area and tagged my keycard at the door leading to the room in which I'd be spending the next 7 nights.
I was pleasantly surprised at how cosy the room felt, it's not my first encounter with dorms, but I felt that my home away from home for the next 8 days was going to be a really pleasant one. The keycard that gave each of us access into our rooms also acts a power source for our individual sockets for light and charging stations. So it's basically like how it would be like in a hotel.
Then! I had to make my own bed. Hahaha. So much for the cozy and pleasant feelings. With my bedsheets and pillowcase all in place, it was time to unpack, rest and prepare for the adventures of Day 2, more on that soon, with photos!
Before I end this post, here's a youtube that I've been listening to as I wrote the 1212 words above.
拳擊手 - 雲鎂鑫
And allow me to bask in some reflected glory by saying that the singer was my classmate in uni. How cool is that. =)
Happy mid week folks! x
