Aqua Bella hotspring hotel beitou

Day 7 in Taiwan!..
Last stop > Beitou Hotspring!! :)
my Taiwan trip coming to an end.. :'(

Purposely arranged to have Hotspring for the last stop of the trip..
to relax and pamper myself a little after all the walks, shoppings and movings before heading back home..
Its well planned i should say..coz it's been raining outside.. -.-'
good thing is..I've booked a hotel with in-room hotspring tub.. :)

I'm staying in Aqua Bella Hotspring Hotel..
It took me some time before locating the hotel.. and it's kind of up hill..
Upon seeing the building, I was so touched and almost cried..haass..


Their train station looks like a temple..

After crossing the road..

Located xin beitou map indicating locations of most hotspring hotel..

it seems to be quite far inside.. :'(

good thing is the staff are friendly and nice..
as i arrived much earlier than my check in time, i requested to have my luggage stored at their hotel and went out for my last street shopping..
it's been drizzling like on and off, the hotel staff actually offered me their umbrellas..how nice..(@.@)

My plan was to go to tamsui old street since its just a few stop away..
My only regret is not being able to finish roaming tamsui old street..
I guess I only completed 1/4 of it only..
and it started raining with slightly strong winds..
I'm afraid my umbrella can't withstand the wind and decided to head back to the hotel..

Despite having to walk through some steep slope before reaching the hotel, I never regret staying there..
I could say, after checking in to my room, I never wanted to go out anymore..
Partly also due to the rain and steep slopes luh..
Anyway, there's a 7-11 opposite the hotel.. and I think it's convenient enough already..

The hotel has exquisite furniture in their lobby..

Mixture of Olden China style..

Modern Western cow skin carpet..


and Luxury Branded Walls..

keke..took some pictures while waiting for my room at the lobby.. :P

Finally checked in and got my room..


Wee..my super comfy bed!.. :)

I had a good sleep!..i think this was the best bed I had throughout my trip..
didn't wanted to get up the next day..
Oh ya..they've got more TV channels!..

Started taking some pictures around in the room..


Huge bathroom!..

The bathroom took up half the room..

 I actually used the bathroom space to pack my loots for my trip.. :P

Complimentary dessert.. :)

I tot I heard wrong at the counter when I check in..the dessert really did come..
This was the first time i had that the hotel served complimentary dessert for guest..

N taadaa!..my long waited HotSpring dip!..


Some instructions..


was walking down the road and saw some smoke oozing out..

the hotspring smoke..keke.. :P

I think Beitou's air is fresher and nicer..on my way to my hotel, i can see mountains and natural greenery around..the temperature is slightly cooler than in the city area..
I actually felt calm and refreshed going there..
like the mood will becomes better too.. :)

Taichung Mi casa hotel Fengjia Nightmarket

Day 3..Hotel Mi Casa!.. :D

Yes..I'm moving again!..going to Taichung!..

The plan was to meet my cousins for the famous Feng Jia Night Market..

Coz i did not know where exactly is Feng Jia Night Market..

The safest thing is to stay somewhere near Train station!..

Map found on one of Hotel Mi Casa brochure.. 

From Taipei Main Station, I bought my train ticket..

Taking their Train for the 1st time is not easy..Fortunately, I could speak mandarin..hahaha..

Firstly, Taipei Main Station is very big!..they have HSR and TSR..both ticket counters are located differently..Before you know their difference and uses, you have to decide which one to take 1st..

Yaa..It's Complicated!!..

Actually, I didn't think so much, I just asked a staff at the self service machine for help.. :)

After that, it took me some time to figure out the place to wait too..

Luckily I bought the later train..else I'll definitely missed it..

Something weird was some stranger actually asked me for directions..

heh heh..I looked like a local oO..makes me feel proud ehh..

I bought this quite last minute, after hsin zhu, i have to give up my seat.. :(

After thought, I guess it's okay luh..seating for too long, the knee cap will ache too..

At the train station rear exit..

At first, I was prepared to roam for awhile before finding the hotel..

Never did I expect to see the hotel direction sign at the train station rear exit..

I'm so touched!..finally can rest and settle down after carrying my huge luggage up and down a flight of stairs!!..

Happily walking towards the sign, I was shock to see a narrow walkway.. (0.0)

I almost cried/faint..

coz it was raining non stop that day..I was holding an umbrella with my huge luggage!!..

With my survivor heart telling me I'M ALMOST THERE!!

I squeeze my way through this narrow alley with my huge and heavy luggage and umbrella..

I managed to take a picture of the narrow alley after walking through..

If it's not raining, it won't be so 'mission accomplished' :P

They have this in the lift..

The corridor..my room's door..

Finally!..I've got to my room!.. *touched*  :')

Though small, but they have nice, new and modern furniture.. :)

 View from my room's balcony.. :)

My nicely furnished bathroom..

My toiletries..

 

Oh..their in room slippers is kinda comfy!.. :)

Something I really like is, their check in timing is the earliest out of all that I've booked..

At 1500hrs I could check in already..most hotel check in timing in Taiwan are quite late I noticed..

Although when I reached Taichung, it's already around 4pm plus, but the best thing is i could check in and get my room immediately.. :)

Especially after all the mission completed..keke.. :P

A small note to all readers..I would advise that people going to Taichung or any other train stations other than Taipei to carry smaller luggage!..It's seriously more convenient..

I went to Taichung train station and Luodong train station, both station doesn't have escalator nor lift..

If you have huge luggage like me, hope it's not heavy..else, good luck to you!..

you've got to carry your huge and heavy luggage UP and/or DOWN the flights of stairs..

My breakfast voucher for the next morning..

Something different..they are serving set meals instead of normal buffet breakfast..i choose set B!..

Started with salads..

Tadaa!..my set B german meals.. :)

Their breakfast was AWESOME!..it's tasty!..

Good meals to start the day.. :)

One of the reason I never regret staying in this hotel..

Dogs in Taiwan has alot of freedom!..

I sees alot of them on street unchained..

I keep seeing this 'Stock 20' sign and in the agoda's review..

was wondering what is it..I thought it was a place that sells alot of clothes or bags, like warehouse sale kind of thing..

After breakfast, i decided to take a look..

Actually, the few dogs guided me to this place..

I went ahead further and found the place..

N realized it's actually a place for art exhibition...

Overall, I find hotel Mi Casa a nice place..Value for money!.. :)

Booked it through agoda at around SGD70+..

I noticed some shopping mall nearby..but sadly, due to the rain and my short stay, i didn't managed to visit them..

The only place I've visited was Feng Jia Night Market to meet my cousins..

I actually asked the hotel staff for the directions to Feng Jia Night Market..

The hotel staff was quite friendly..he took a map and drawn me the direction..

or perhaps, most Taiwanese are quite nice and friendly.. :)

I took a bus from opposite bus interchange to Feng Jia Night Market..

was told bus 35 or 33..i took bus 35..fare is only NTD25..

was so worried that I don't know where to alight..I keep thinking, did i overshot?..and wanted to just alight and take a cab..but another thought was what if i couldn't get a cab after alighting or cab uncle laughing at me saying it's just across the street...

My eyes keep searching for the bus route map in the bus..spotted it after quite a few stops..

The whole trip was relatively long..Feng Jia Night Market stops is almost the last few stops..

I think it's just a little patience..

good thing is the bus will announces which stop are we at..

After alighting, I wasn't too sure and asked a stall assistant..haas..

Locating my cousins is another big challenge too..

I feel so touched seeing them!.. my tears almost falls..

visiting night market on a raining day is not easy too!..so inconvenient loh..

after walking inconveniently with the umbrella, we found a sheltered stall to try some local food..
oyster omelette, smelly toufu, super big cup milk tea..
 

 
shopped for awhile and passed by the all famous May day's shop..

rains getting heavier and heavier at fengjia night market, thus decided to return home.. :'(


when i returned back to my hotel all wet, took off my newly bought boots..
my socks turned this color.. :'(

saddest part is.. my newly bought boots is totally soaked.. :'(
tried my best to use the hotel hair dryer to blow it dry with my tired body..
but the inside is not as fury as what I've bought initially..sadded..

phew..after today, i think i'm awesome!..I've done well!..I've learned and experienced alot!..

so proud of myself!..

Of coz!..I felt so tired after a whole day of challenges..with a totally wet boots..

it's so difficult to dry the boots loh..I can't open it up to dry inside :'(

Sato castle Taipei

Day 2..
Sato Caslte Motel
Seeing this..I was thrilled!.. :D I was prepared to be disappointed..
Thank you for not disappointing me.. :)
I'm gonna stay in a Castle!!.. Yay!..
Saw this on agoda and booked without much thought..
I thought it would be interesting and a good experience staying in such themed hotel..

Picture is a must!.. :)

the front desk counter is just outside..i was shocked when the staff walked out -.-'

the hotel was nicely located..
all famous Ferris wheels, Miramar shopping mall, family mart, street stalls, supermarket, mrt station are just nearby..
there's a free shuttle bus to Miramar shopping mall from jian tan station(shilin night market) too..

Yay!..I've got my key!.. *excited*

My room's theme..they have different theme for every rooms..
for more info, visit http://www.sato-castle.com/


The walk way looks like castle too.. ^^

The room was kinda big..in fact the biggest for my whole trip..

 

View when lying on the bed..


Castle voucher for my buffet breakfast the next morning..


Toiletries inside castle box..

More thrilled seeing this huge jacuzzi bath tub!!.. ^^

View beside the jacuzzi bath tub!..the bathroom was huge too!..

There's even a in-room steam room!!..

It's a awesome experience!..I never regret moving almost everyday..
Initially, i thought it's a bad idea having to change my hotel almost everyday..
If I never move, I wouldn't have seen the all famous Ferris wheels!..with such convenient and well equipped surroundings..but i think, one night should be enough already..as it's not cheap staying in the Castle..hehe.. :P

Some negative points is that I could smell cigarette smell in the room..Perhaps they allows guest to smoke in their room..and breakfast was normal only..

Nihao hostel Taipei

Tried my 1st solo trip to Taiwan recently..It's a 8D7N free and easy trip..
Experienced and learned alot..
I guess the most important issue when in overseas is a place to rest, a shelter for the night, a place to store your luggage so that you could go shopping afterwards...
Fortunately there's quite a few mediums we could look for and book our accommodations before hand..
I've booked most of my rooms with agoda..I think their web page is quite user friendly, information are quite detailed..
It's good for traveler like me..need to feel safe, likes to compare before booking..
Like there's so many information we need to know, since we've never been there to see the surroundings..
Chances of feeling cheated when you reached are high..
I'm definitely not the high class traveler, spending generously for all 5 stars hotel rooms.. I'll try to save as much as i could, but also ensure certain level of comfort and pleasure too.. :)

Since I'm traveling alone, I'll try to look for places that are accessible..So that when i arrived, it would be easier for me to locate the place, settle down and roam around..

I've booked 2 separate night stay with NiHao Hostel..Mixed dorm and Female dorm..
It's conveniently located nearby Taipei Main Station..
Since it's a Hostel, the booking price is much lower..but i think it's worth the price luh..
They have lots of young and friendly staff!.. :)
Wifi was free.. :)
Although it's a hostel, but the place was nicely designed and decorated.. :)
Their website too.. http://www.nihao.com.tw/
They have good designer..keke.. :P

Amazed by their entrance..



It actually took me quite a while to locate the place..as they are not a building by themselves..
I've expected that, as I've seen some review over agoda mentioning that..
I've looked at their map over and over again.. http://www.nihao.com.tw/?p=findus
Finally..I've found the building..

It's next to the cosmos hotel..
can walk by the underground walkway, exit M3..

This is the map i saw at their counter..

I've got my locker key and room access key!..


Finally can rest.. :) -.-zZ
didn't sleep well in the plane :( felt soo tired after some walks at ximending..
I washed up, did some packing and slept early on my 1st night in Taiwan..
Bed side equipment for the 1st night..in a mixed dorm..


My Locker(mixed dorm)

Oh ya..there's a curtain!..some privacy.. :)

Day 2 breakfast at nearby local stall..milktea was good :)

This is a returned trip..Female dorm..
keke..this time, i remembered to take a picture of the room..
that night, the room was not fully occupied.. :)
Frankly, i would recommend female dorm..it's more spacious!..
There's a small bed side table for me to put my small handy things.. :)

Female dorm locker..bigger and not so high..