Last Day in Taiwan

Itinerary

6:00AM – Wake up and prep
7:00AM – Have breakfast
9:00AM – Travel and explore Bitan
12:00PM – Have lunch
1:00PM to 2:00PM – Travel to MOCA Taipei
2:00PM to 4:00PM – Explore Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art
4:00PM to 5:00PM – Travel to Elephant Mountain trail
5:00PM to 6:00PM – Catch sunset at Elephant Mountain
7:00PM – Have dinner
8:00PM – Shop at Carrefour Chongqing Store
10:00PM – Pack up; Rest

Our five-day stay in Taiwan felt very brief when we woke up in the morning and realized that it was our last whole day in the country. The city also seemed to be saddened by this fact because it was raining for the first time after several days when we stepped outside. Due to this, we decided to cancel our trip to Bitan and head instead to Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art as our first stop for the day.

Popularly known as MOCA Taipei, this two-level art museum is located in the district of Datong and is well-known for its remarkable Taiwan colonial architecture. The building used to house a primary school and the Taipei City government until the latter was moved to its current location in Xinyi District and the place was re-opened as a contemporary art museum in the early 2000s. An entrance fee of TWD50 is required to explore the entire museum which offers pass to its more or less 10 exhibits during our visit.

Upon entering, I was personally stunned with the modern look of the museum which was contrary to my expectation of an early 20th century interior. Visitors will be first welcomed by a souvenir shop where the ticket counter is located. Afterwards, tourists will be guided to a locker room where all bags are required to be deposited for TWD5 before entering the museum proper.

Most exhibits are found in the second level which offered immersive digital contemporary art to viewers. My favorite one is the exhibit found in the main hall where various interactive digital and traditional contemporary pieces of art are up to be seen and experienced. There’s also a room in the first level which houses a film exhibit of a contemporary short where visitors can sit and relax before ending their museum visit.

Having finished our museum tour just in time for lunch, we decided to go to Taipei City Mall to grab lunch and finally try MOS Burger which we’ve noticed was a popular local go-to dining spot during our trip. I ordered their Shrimp Burger meal which boasts of a crispy and tasty breaded shrimps as its patty whose taste was further amplified with the mayonnaise and cabbage strips that come with it. Complementing the meal was a tasty serving of fries and a large cup of real iced tea (How I wish iced teas in the Philippines are as real as this one). After a satisfying lunch, we finally headed to our last destination for our trip which is the iconic Elephant Mountain.

A popular tourist spot known for its overlooking view of Taipei City, Elephant Mountain is located in Xinye District and is accessible via MRT through Xiangshan Station. Visitors would also get the chance to pass by and wander in Xiangshan Park whose location is found before the foot of the hiking trail. Reaching the viewing deck can take up to 30 minutes and requires a 400-step leg workout.

Personally I thought climbing Elephant Mountain would be a piece of cake because I have been hiking mountains back in the Philippines until I found myself catching breaths in between and feeling my legs aching. Add up the wet steep steps of the trail caused by the rainy weather which made the climb more difficult and required extra caution. Nonetheless, all the pain and effort was all the worth once you reach the top and see the famous Taipei 101 towering the whole city. Too bad though that the sun wasn’t up during our visit and we went in the place too early that we weren’t able to catch the majestic sunset.

Our trip wouldn’t be complete without shopping for souvenirs, hence, we dropped by at Carrefour Chongqing Store after taking a quick rest back in our hotel. As expected, prices of goodies in this grocery store were cheaper than in the souvenir and convenience stores that we’ve been that we actually ended up grocery shopping for Taiwanese delicacies to take home. The place also offers tax refund for shoppers with purchased items worth TWD2000 and charges extra amount for use of plastic bags. Carrefour has various branches across the city in case you want to save money on souvenir shopping.

Our last few hours in Taiwan were spent prepping and packing our bags for our morning flight back home the following day. A mix of wanting to stay longer and wanting to go home were the things I’ve felt during this period making me think of my next international getaway. But for the meantime, I’ll look forward to the day when I’m headed again to Taiwan.

Want to know the other places we’ve visited in our five days in Taiwan? Find them here. 🙂