Adventures in Taipei (Day 2) Lil gems in alleys

Workin 9 to 5 what a way to make a livin...

Waking up from the warmth of a nice fluffy bed , in cold weather is absolutely the hardest thing to do. I actually contemplated skipping the breaksfast buffet spread in the hotel cafe in favour of sleeping in awhile longer.

Damn you snooze button!
Damn you stupid PDA with appointment alarm!

It was 930am by the time i stepped out of the hotel to the main road to wave down a cab, the cold chill hit me instantly..

Damn you stupid Guppy for not listening to his advice to bring warm clothes. Yahoo's weather forecast stated that Taipei will be rainy with 15 degrees as its lowest temperature , that was why I didnt bring along my winter coat, scarf or gloves..15 degrees my ass! it was at least 10 degrees this morning, rainy, windy , wet and foggy!

I arrived at our office building @945am , yup Taipei 101 still looks a blur in daylight.

Taipei colleague brought me out to lunch at Taipei 101 and helped me to take this pic hee hee

We wanted to go all the way up to the tallest floor to view the scenery but bad weather and thick clouds overhead only meant there would be nothing to see, so we gave up on the idea

I had many versions of bubble tea today , all treats from my colleagues! yummy!

Then it was back to meetings, meetings and more meetings all day. I didnt manage to escape until 530-ish in the evening.. blyeah and by then the skies were already dark like 8pm in Singapore!

It was too cold and wet to be out without a coat. I hid out in my hotel room till around 7-ish to warm up before i ventured out again in search of food and adventure :D

Playtime in Taipei - eating and shopping

A quick stroll outside my hotel area unearthed lotsa interesting MAKAN gems!

TouFu ( Beancurd) Cafe

a quaint little cafe , in the corner of a lonely little alley behind my hotel.

Lo! they sell nothing but different varietys of TOFU! in warm luscious homely settings, wooden furnishings, old knick knacks..lots of potted plants..a littel fountain...

Under the potted plant there was a little pool of water, and in that pool of water there were

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GUPPIES!!!!!!!

After the nice little beancurd dessert, I moved on to re-visit a little cafe I discovered last night ( it was only further down the road) to enjoy their honey tea again.

Rose Garden Cafe

I love this cafe. it has a homely feeling, with fairy lights, teddy bear decorations, dried flowers, mismatched cutlery and most importantly it also has a little library of comic books and magazines for patrons to read! the food was so so but the ambience is really romantic.

come to think of it, maybe its the street im on, beancurd cafe was also kinda dreamy and romantic awash in orange warm glow.

dreamy fairy lights..simple furnishings....

warm cosy ambience, satchels of lavendar hanging off the ceiling lamps, mismatched furniture blending so well together...

mismatched cutlery , crockery and teapots..so nice..so simple.

A library of comics to read for free , water feature that provides the soothing sound of trickling water..with Hall and Oates, "Everytime you go away" playing in the background.

and a nice cool tall glass of honeyed tea .

much much much better than beer, I love the atmosphere here. makes me want to start my own cozy little book cafe! :D sigh...dream dream dream

Guppies can ride the subway too!

After the nice tea, i moved out and headed towards the nearby Sun Yat Sen Memorial Train station - Whats a trip to any country without giving the local public transport system a try?

People tell me ""Xi Men Ding is a "must visit" spot if u are in Taipei. I figured, the "Xi Men" station on the map should lead me to the famous shopping strip, if not at least somewhere near it. :P heee ..I love gambling.

Only 7 stops away along the blue line!

my train ride "token" cost me NT25 to get to "Xi Men" Station :D * trembles with excitement*

Woohooo!!! Success! I exited at Xi Men Station and emerged smack in the middle of "Xi Men Ding" shopping strip! bright lights, loud music. this area is so alive and so crowded for a weekday evening. I cant imagine how insane it will be on weekends!

There were just too many colourful shops to choose from. But somehow nothing they were selling appealed to me..hee nevertheless I still had a great time just looking at the wares on sale, and watching people go by

Horror! I spotted a restaurant selling nothing but different curries from around the world! SOBS! How? its a similar concept to my 7 Curry restaurant that i wanted to set up last year in Singapore Booooooo!!! I couldnt help myself I had to go try their food! Im happy to say the ambience is so so...and the food is no big deal..

Then its back to more insane window shopping again after my main meal..

Isnt the lion adorable? some jap import donut brand...mmmm Donuts...

Shopping is interesting at Xi Men Ding as alot of tthe cafes are not on street level but upstairs!

The only thing I bought tonight at Xi Men Ding... :P dunno why just wasnt in the mood to shop. ...yup you've guessed it Toffee apple! :D

By the time i decided i have had enough and wanted to go back to the hotel, I realise I had lost my bearings and was too embarassed to ask around where the MRT station was :P ...oh well I ended up taking a cab back to the hotel instead...

Back at the hotel ...Mmmmmm see my nice purchase? I love apples!

A nice kinky pic of me munching on apple to help u with sweeter dreams at nite! ha ha ha

Heheh okay happie gupsters! this was a really long blog. Im gonna finish off my toffee apple and go to bed! Tomorrow is another day of meetings galore