Taipei Day 3: National Palace Museum, Ximending

Taiwanese bread and pastries are yummy!

Gotta love the foodcourts!

So many food, so little tummy.  Hmmm, what to order, what to order?

Sophisca sells chocolates in the weirdest of shapes.  Definitely not the best tasting, but worth a try.  Their goodies will be a sure hit as "pasalubong".  

Condom chocolates anyone?  Scroll down below for more shots inside Sophisca.

Ximending.  I told wifey that if ever we go back to Taipei (and I definitely think we will), I would want to stay in this area.  It's so vibrant and colorful!  Even at past midnight, shops are still open and you can still see so many people eating, and walking around.  I love it! 

It's so nice to see a shop even encouraging people to take pictures of their merchandise.  I think there's nothing more bloggers hate than a sign that says "No Photos Allowed".  Don't you agree?

Sanitary napkin marshmallows, condom chocolares and White Flower candies at Sophisca. 

Taipei Day 2: Beitou and Guang Hua area

The Taiwanese are very organized and disciplined and it's so nice to see people always queuing for a change.  Even during rush hour, it's amazing to see a line magically appear near the train entrance - no pushing or shoving necessary.  Motorists and pedestrians also follow rules and signs and you can hardly hear cars honking.  Very impressive.  

To reach Beitou, take the red line towards Danshui, get off at Beitou Station.  Transfer to the Xinbeitou (pink) line and get off one stop later. 

Ketagalan Cultural Center

Aboriginal costumes on display.  The museum is free and photography (without flash) is allowed.

 

Beitou Hot Spring Museum

Beitou Public Library

 

Beitou Thermal Valley

Electronic shops in Taipei are concentrated in the Zhongshang (Xinsheng) area where Guang Hua Digital Mall is also located.  Guang Hua is very similar to our V-Mall in Greenhills but about ten times larger in terms of floor space.  Since Asus, Acer, HTC and Transcend are Taiwanese brands, expect items to be about a few thousand pesos cheaper here.  I bought an Asus Zenfone 6 here for P5,990 NTD (about P8,400) and a Memopad 7 for 6,990 NTD (about P9,800).  The 64GB Transcend MicroSD I placed in my Memopad cost me 1,050 NTD or about P1,472.   

The ground floor of Guang Hua Digital Mall