Hi, Hive friends! Let me share my experience of taking the HSR and MRT in Taiwan. It was my first time in Taiwan in November 2016 when I took off from Cebu on November 8 and arrived in Taoyuan on November 9 to spend my birthday on Nov 10.
At Taoyuan Airport
I landed at Taoyuan airport past midnight so I had no enough sleep. I searched for a bench to get some sleep. It wasn't the most comfortable experience.
This store was open but the other stalls were closed.
I had to pass through immigration.
People getting their checked-in baggage.
At 6 AM, I took some Taipei and Taiwan Tourist maps for free.
I had to buy the Easy Card to pay for the bus, MRT, and HSR transportation as easily as possible, that's why it was called Easy Card. Haha!
Taoyuan High-Speed Rail
It was in 2016, I took a bus from the airport to Taoyuan High-Speed Rail. There was no MRT/subway from the airport to Taipei at this time as it was under construction. I took the THSR for the experience but there was a bus from the airport to Taipei.
I came here to ask for information and I could pay with my EasyCard.
As you can see, there were not so many people as it was early in the morning. It wasn't busy.
Happy to take a selfie.
Standing on my platform, waiting for my train.
It was spacious more like an airplane. I was sure these people wouldn't stop in Taipei. It was only me but they would stop there to take passengers from Taipei to somewhere else in Taiwan.
I arrived. From where I was standing, I could switch to the MRT station around Taipei.
I took this photo to understand the map.
Taipei MRT
From Taipei Main Station, I switched to the MRT and had to stop at Taipei City Mall. My hostel was just near for about 2-3 minutes of walk.
I always took photos to remember.
And here was my hostel at Main Inn Taipei.
The neighborhood was convenient.
And a photo where the MRT would pass by.
with Janice
Janice waited for me outside of my hostel. My check-in should be at 3 PM, I was too early, so I arrived at 9 AM. I just left my luggage in the reception area. Janice invited me for breakfast.
Beef noodles were good.
I remember the vendor marked up the price just because we were foreigners. Janice can speak Mandarin since she was working in Hsinchu, she can speak the language fluently.
After the beef noodles breakfast, Janice recommended tasting the Taiwanese Bubble Milk Tea, the brand is good, the 50 Tea. Oh yes, I gave her some Dried Mangoes from Cebu. Whenever I see Filipinos in different countries, I make sure to bring some Cebu delicacies.
The bubble milk tea was really affordable I became addicted to it every time I was in Taiwan. Hahaha!
Different shops at the MRT stations
I was amazed by the different shops at MRT stations. I found this XBOX shop in Taipei City Mall. I was tempted to buy something since I used to have an XBOX game console. When I posted this on Facebook, my guy friends went crazy if I could buy something for them. The guy friends loved everything they saw here, they were the Gaming Console nerds.
At a food shop in Taipei City Mall, I didn't understand the menu but we could see some Tofu and Century egg on a plate.
I happily take a selfie with Janice on our way to our destination.
Taipei Has the Easiest MRT Route Map
So far, Taipei has the best and the easiest MRT route map I've ever experienced. I've been to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Singapore but Taipei was just the simplest and the easiest.
We went to Xiangshan for the Elephant Mountain.
It was really cheap and easy to get around Taipei. All tourist spots are just near the MRT/subway station. Taipei, Taiwan is my alternative to Japan. I enjoyed my food trip here especially the sushi, the Taiwanese cuisine, and the bubble milk tea.
Everything was so convenient in Taiwan that I promised to stay for almost a month. That's for another story.
Here is a previous blog I wrote in Taipei: Hiking the Elephant Mountain Trail with a view of Taipei 101