I stayed at Novotel Hotel near Taipei International Airport for this trip. I took this hotel online on Expedia.co.jp. It was super gorgeous, with a clean and modern room and a wide bed with two pillows.
You can see an airplane taking off from the guest room window because this hotel is located right beside a runway.
One problem: as it’s very close to an airport, when a plane takes off at midnight its roaring sound will wake you up 🙁 It’s recommended to avoid staying near an airport.
Category: Traveling 旅行
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Hotel where I stayed
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Cell phones in Taiwan
The Shizilin building in Ximending is a complex of cell phone shops, arcade game shops and a movie theater. The first floor of it has plenty of shops selling cell phones, cell phone accessories, cameras, electric devices etc., like Sincere Podium in Hong Kong. The staff doesn’t understand English, though.
I got Nokia 6120 classic at a shop in the building, just for NT$5000. When I looked into my wallet I found enough money I can afford to buy it. It supports HSDPA.
When it comes to cell phones in Taiwan of these days, I found that Nokia wasn’t dominant. I saw not so many people used Nokia handsets. Instead, Sony Ericsson, LG, Samsung seem to be popular among Taiwan’s people. Among them, Samsung’s Anycall brand handsets were seen in many places. -
Wanhua and Ximending
It’s the Wanhua district. There are old Chinese buildings and stores in the area. I like it. -
Sightseeing in Taipei — Longshan Temple
Taipei International Airport looked as if it had been a major airport in Japan. Signs looked almost as same as those in a Japanese airport, except that they were written in traditional Chinese characters.
If you go to the bus stop on the first floor of the airport you can catch a route 705 bus to HSR Taoyuan Station, costing just NT$30 (almost 1USD). It’s too cheap!There were no other passengers but me in the big double-decked bus.
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TAIPEI101 and Shilin Night Market
This is TAIPEI 101, which HAD BEEN world’s tallest building until Burj Khalifa was built in Dubai. It was closed to general people but employees of its tenants.
It’s Shilin Night Market, one of Taipei’s famous night markets crowded for thousands of people from around. At stores of both sides of the main street clothes and wallets were sold for cheaper prices than at department stores. If you get on a branch road you have stinking stalls selling foods.
I got chicken rice at one of the stall. It tasted nice, although stalls around there stank. -
Going to Taipei / 台湾に行ってきます
日本文が後ろに続きます。
I’ll be in Taipei until next Monday to see my brother working there now. The airplane will depart in an hour. I’m typing this entry in front of the gate. Flight attendants are chatting very loudly…. Anyway I’ll enjoy being abroad because it’s been almost three years since my last trip to a foreign country.
台湾に短期出張中の兄に会いに来週月曜日まで台北に行ってきます。この時期だと往復３万円なので中華航空にしました。大阪行くより安いですね。
あと１時間で離陸です。搭乗口の前に座ってこのブログを書いてます。現地のスッチーたちはけたたましくおしゃべりしながら近くに座ってゲートオープンを待ってます。。。ともあれ３年ぶりの海外なので楽しんできます。旅行記はフォートラベルに書いています。
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GW
今年のGWは、例によって実家に帰省してました。クルマがなくなったので公共交通機関を使ったワケなのですが、金のかかる上に激込みの新幹線や飛行機などは今回パスし、鈍行電車だけで帰りました。3月に阪神なんば線が開通し、難波から西宮までダイレクトにつながったので、それに乗ってみたい、というのもあり。
行程：
東京（8:21）→（快速アクティー小田原行）→平塚→（熱海行）→熱海→（島田行）→興津→（浜松行）→浜松→（豊橋行）→豊橋→（新快速大垣行）→名古屋
近鉄名古屋（15:00）→（アーバンライナー）→鶴橋（16:59）→（三宮行）→阪神西宮
帰りは高速バスで帰りましたが東名高速が激混みで、大阪11時発で東京に帰りついたのがなんと22時過ぎ！ あまり割に合いませんでした。
次回は青春18きっぷを買って電車だけで帰省しようと思います。。。 -
栃木・群馬の旅
例によって、國學院栃木高校の文化祭を見に行ってきました。
ミュージカル部の今年の公演「サウンド・オブ・ミュージック」です。これはもうあまりにも超有名なミュージカルで、私もストーリーやミュージカルナンバーは熟知しているので何も言うことはありませんが、やはりレベル高い演技が光っていました。三枝幹音センセイは元気そうにしていましたが、劇団AMNはどうなっちゃったんでしょうか。公演の案内も何年も来ないし、ネットで検索しても何も出てこないので、もう活動してないんでしょうかね。いろいろお話しようと思いましたが、忙しいようで終演後のどさくさでどこかに行ってしまって、捕まえられませんでした。
