Taipei 101, Taipei 2012 + Just A Minute, Sept 2012

Taipei 101, impossible to miss.

Watching | Veep (and also Doctor Who 7, The Big Bang Theory 6, Partners, The New Normal)

Reading | Smith Journal, Volume 4

Listening | Turntable Kitchen, September 2012 Breakfast Mix

Drinking | Lime Cucumber Yoghurt Drink (tastes great, smells weird)

Enjoying | Sitting out in the garden and catching up on magazines

Trying | To meet up with long-lost friends. Schedules can be hard to coordinate sometimes.

Wufenpu, Taipei 2012

When in Taipei, it's practically mandatory that every night you should be exploring night markets 夜市 for cute outfits and delicious street snacks. There are night markets known for clothes and night markets known for food or night markets known for both clothes and food! On this particular night, we found ourselves at Wufenpu 五分埔, a wholesale garment district. I remember this market as particularly rowdy and full of people but that night, there was lesser people around and we could shop leisurely and enjoyably.

Leofoo Village, Taipei 2012

Leofoo Village (六福村) is an amuseument park located about 45 minutes from the main city centre of Taipei, while not as flashy as Everland in Seoul, Leofoo Village has a small amusement park charm to it. And to be fair, we visited in the off-season where many of the thrill rides were offline and no parades were available. It was also really nice to have a big, empty amusement park almost all to yourself. We also agreed that the ham & cheese croissant from Elite Deli in the park was delish!

Beitou, Taipei 2012

We spent a quiet Sunday in Beitou, north of the main Taipei bustle. Beitou is well-known for its hot springs and we thought to relax after our hectic travelling the day before. We walked around the town, peeking into the Beitou Public Library (one of the top 25 most beautiful public library in the world) and the Beitou Hot Springs Museum. We soaked away the rest of the evening in our hotel room, letting our daily worries flow away with the water. Blisss.

Typical Breakfast, Taipei 2012

A typical breakfast of braised pork rice 滷肉飯 and soy bean milk 豆漿.

Solo Flight, Taipei 2012

Travelling solo to Taipei by myself was such a thrill. It may be a ridiculous feeling but to be able to pay my own airfare on a premier airline like Singapore Airlines, I felt like an adult for the first time.

Friends, Taipei 2012

When I made plans to stay at Parachute Hostel for my last day in Taipei, it was to meet my blogosphere friend Katie from the very pretty blog Curating Cuteness, one of the earliest online friendships I made through this blog. I still remember how we bonded on twitter over starting beginner Korean language lessons at roughly the same time in 2010! Little did I know, by staying at Parachute, I not only cemented one friendship, I met 6 other incredible individuals. My fellow hostelites in the first picture who I bonded with instantly, in just one night of conversations, and the ladies who run Parachute Hostel & Paper Plane Cafe 紙飛機咖啡, Ping Zhen, Becky and Katie!

I honestly cannot wait to go back to Taipei and to stay at Parachute again. One night wasn't enough.

Golden Hour, Taipei 2012

Today, I...
- did 1 hour of pilates
- bought a pair of Croc flats
- bought more clothes from Cotton On
- borrowed a bunch of books from the library
- need to begin packing for a work trip to Indonesia next week

Wulai Aboriginal Village, Taipei 2012

Simple Market, Taipei 2012

If you are in Taipei on a Sunday, you need to visit Simple Market at Good Cho's. You will come away with a bag full of goodies, a tummy full of freshly-roasted coffee and sandwiches and a lighter wallet.

On The Road, Taipei 2012