Manila Life goes to Taipei - Day 2, Part 2

It was a start of a brand new day, and yes I slept well, all the way to 11 AM... OH my!! What! it's 11 AM already, better hurry won't want to miss lunch today, Buffet Lunch at the Square.  What is there to see? and what foods to look out for?

the very vibrant Salad Bar, everything looks so fresh and nutritious too.

Pan fried Dory fish

Roast beef in mustard sauce

Lamb chops and lamb ribs

Fresh tuna sashimi

they even have a dimsum counter, a fresh seafood counter, a roasted turkey served with peppercorn sauce

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Manila Life goes to Taipei - day 2 part 1

This is still considered day 1, but since we already arrived and checked in after midnight then this should be day 2 right?  Well, we have checked in at our hotel near the airport, Novotel Taipei Hotel.  Please be reminded that even though this airport hotel is in the vicinity of the airport, you will not be able to access the hotel by foot, and will be required to take the shuttle to the hotel.  Or if you can’t wait for the shuttle, take a cab.  But the price of the fare might be pegged at NT$100 up even if it’s just 5 minutes away.  Suggest you take the free shuttle, just have a little patience. 

On a regular day, the shuttle picks up once every 30 – 45 mins.   But when its already late there is less frequency please do check their website and email them of your arrival so that they could arrange for the shuttle and name card to pick you up.

Now, how about this spanking new hotel?  Well this hotel just opened last 2008 I think, and is positioned close to the convention centre and Aviation Museum Park and features 360 modern rooms with triple glazed windows, along with two restaurants, three bars, a gym, pool, spa, beauty salon and conferencing facilities.

 the bar

 the grand lobby

 A nice modern Christmas tree sets the mood for this new hotel

Please be reminded that even though this hotel is a very good airport hotel, there is practically nowhere to go around, so all you have to go sightseeing for would be the hotel’s facilities.  Not even a 7-eleven is within sight.

I love how this hotel was designed, modern and has a very homey feel, maybe it’s because of the cool weather, I love it.  Once we got to our room it was a pleasant surprise indeed, room was not that big but adequate and had all that we need.  Most important thing is to advise the front desk upon check in to place you in the other side of the hotel which should not face the airport or expect some disturbance from noise of planes making their way on the tarmac.  As far as we are concerned we got the quiet room so a good night sleep is just a dream away.  I would like to show you our nice room, but wait, is that my tummy rumbling... oh no! I am hungry again, so we headed to the hotel restaurant which serves food 24h a day.  Thank God for the Square.

 What did we have?

Beef Noodles (NT$260) and some free appetizers

The beef chunks were lean and so easy to the bite, even my FIL who has a hard time biting because of the effects of not-getting-any-younger syndrome did not even complain of the beef, the noodles were firm and had a very distinct rice taste.  But there was just one thing that I wished had been done.  Wished that made the soup hotter, even though we asked for the noodle soup to be heated 2 times, it still came out not as hot as I had wanted it to be... again blame it on the cold weather, or maybe that its already 2AM and were still eating here, fast forward now it's time to go to bed, I admit its really a good habit going to bed after a meal but I was really drowsy and this was so inviting...

the soft and warm bed

the clean and tidy bathroom, and that sleek LCD TV.

And last but not the least, the hotel had central heating so it was perfect to snuggle in the warm air amidst the cold, so for now I'm finally calling it a day, I mean a start of a day, but sleep first.  I am quite excited to try out their lunch buffet as I am sure I will be sleeping like a log til 11AM.  Part 2 is coming up...

Manla Life goes to Taipei - Night 1

It was the date 12.28.10.  My flight to Taipei Taiwan, it has been quite some time since I last went to this beloved country.  We took the Cebu Pacific flight 5J310, from the new and world class Terminal 3.  For those of you who have yet to use terminal 3, well it’s quite nice compared to NAIA terminal 1, which I believe is still undergoing renovation because it is really getting dated and although I know it would be waste to not use it, I would have the place abandoned and demolished because it really is painful to see tourists come to terminal 1 as this is first thing they see.... and should what a painful sight to see indeed, that would always leave a very bad impression on our country.

Now I was very glad to have our flight leave on time at 10:40 P.M., when we arrived in Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 at around 12:30 A.M the next day, another good news is that we arrived earlier than the scheduled time which is around 12:15 A.M. now that’s fast, credit that to the new planes and fine weather. 

Now, for those of you who would want to take this flight on your next trip, please note that the last bus service to Taipei leaves terminal 1 at 1:00 A.M., considering the time you go through from the plane gates to immigration (5-10 min.), then waiting for your luggages to come through the conveyer (5-15 min.) then pass through customs (5 min.) then to walk to the bus loading area.  There might be a chance that you would be able to catch it though, but it is not always your birthday so what if your flight got delayed or something, the bus will not wait for passengers as it is on a tight time schedule (the driver wants to go home already..haha), so let me offer 4 options for you.