Taiwan Trip Day 1: Tainan

I prefer red eye flight than a flight early in the morning that requires me to take up in ungodly hours. Flying with budget airlines makes it worse. I was already not in a good mood and the Scoot staff at the check-in counter was so unprofessional and borderline dumb. I was in a rather unusual position as I did not need a visa with my Japan visa free status and thus I only required a letter to enter Taiwan. The staff is supposed to check it is okay for me to flight and that is her job to know. If she did not trust me that I had sufficient documentation, then she should find out and verify what I said instead of asking me questions that she would not believe anyway. Bleah..

I usually prefer aisle seat but this time I was planning to sleep all the way and chose a window seat. I filled my stomach using my priority pass lounge access and thank goodness everything was good for my stomach. I appreciate the "board me first" that came with my Scoot ticket as Passion Card member as I was able to chiong to the toilet. I was knocked out even before the safety demonstration. The flight route was SIN - KHH (Kaohsiung) - KIX (Osaka) and the plane was the 3 x 3 seats so the leg space was comfortable unlike the previous 2 x 3 seats plane that I took to Jakarta. It was a smooth flight with no turbulence and that was how I was able to sleep well throughout.

After arrival, we took the train to Kaohsiung Main Station for our train to Tainan. The train is quite similar to the MRT in Singapore. Despite the name (main station), Kaohsiung Main Station was not that crowded. The station is undergoing renovation and there was only one option for us to get our lunch: the lunch box at the station. I was lucky to get the last box of the fish since that was the only option with no bones. It was quite filling and quite good quality for barely $2.50 after conversion. I judge places based on the toilets and so far the toilets (in the airport and in the station) were amazingly clean and spacious/huge/big.

The train ride to Tainan was about 40 minutes and all of us were really tired. Tainan really reminds me of Pontianak, the city where my dad came from, with the city layout, the chaotic traffic, the motorcycles, and the old buildings. Tainan still feels more advanced though with the abundance of the 7-11 and Family Mart.

We stay at Dynasty Hotel. The room is surprisingly quite good considering the toilet is kinda meh. I think they can make the room a bit smaller to give more space for the toilet.

The view from the window of my hotel room

With only less than half a day left, we just explored around the city. We visited Hayashi Department Store which to me, well, is just like any other department store and the prices are quite expensive. I suppose people come here for its historical significance (it was originally opened in the 1932 as one of the rare buildings with elevator and it was the tallest building in the city then) rather than for shopping. The old elevator is still maintained as only 5 people can fit and the elevator is there not exactly for transporting. It will only go to the first and top floor. There is a Japanese shrine at the roof although the view from the roof is not amazing since it is 2019 now and this building is no longer the tallest in the city. Despite it being a tourist attraction, it is definitely the right decision to keep the historical feel of the building facade. Nonetheless, this kind of attraction is not really my cup of tea.

The Japanese shrine at the roof of Hayashi Department Store

We went to have the vinegar fruit drink across the street, explore the city further, before hailing a taxi to a night market. The initial cost of the taxi is 85 yuan and after 10+ minutes ride, the total cost was only 130 yuan. That is really cheap for a taxi ride. It is nice to experience an authentic Taiwanese night market although I admit that I am not a fan of the crowd. I just don't like when people are squeezing without regards to one another. I have been hearing about smelly tofu and only today then I understand the horror. It literally smells like diarrhea shit. Initially I was like "why are there so many toilets here?" since I kept smelling the shit smell. It was actually the smelly tofu. I am usually quite adventurous but I did not try since usually the tofu is sold by a box. I don't mind to try one piece but not a few. Haha.. This smelly tofu aside, generally I think the food was good.

It was quite an eye opening to see the game stations. The one that my friends like the most is the bingo with mahjong tiles. Basically you choose 15 random tiles and see if you can form any lines with those tiles in the printed bingo mats. It is purely luck based. Unfortunately, getting one line is only the 'first stage'. After that you still have to choose 1 out of 24 numbers from a wheel that you spin. You have to get the number correct to get a prize. I did not try anything after knowing this. Haha.. 1 stage is ok.. 2 stages I can say bye to my luck.

Although I was full, with the few days here, I would prioritise "trying first and losing weight later" so I will buy snacks and drinks that I have not seen anywhere else. I don't normally eat KFC but this Lay's x KFC snack is just too tempting. I cannot comment on how authentic the taste to KFC is but the structure of the chips is wow.. very crunchy.. I like. The honey milk does not have enough honey while I am too full for the chun chui he.