Arrival at Taoyuan

Ok. Let's get started. First day, boarded China Airlines (one of the few direct flights to Taiwan) from Penang Airport to Taoyuan International Airport. Our departure time was around  6pm, that means I get to have dinner in the plane!! This is what they'd served.

Rolled up roti jala + a piece of fish with cold salad + bland curry chicken + rock hard cold bun

That was my first time experiencing China Airlines and the one thing I've learnt is not to expect great service. Fortunately it was a rather pleasant meal, I just love roti jala. Weather conditions weren't good, it was a rather bumpy ride and my sinuses felt as if they were going to burst out of my face.

Planning til the last minute. Whoa!!

After 4 hours in the air, finally time for touch down. Collected our luggage and applied for the Youth Travel Card. Cards are issued at the information counter. All you need is your passport. It looked more like a key chain rather than a card and it comes with a booklet. Application is free, however it wasn't much of a use to me except for a 10% discount on the local day tour. Student cards are more useful.

It was near midnight when we finally completed our arrival procedures. Most buses have stopped operating, I was yearning for a good night's sleep, thus for convenience sake, we called for the airport taxi (NTD800 costly but quite reasonable given the travel time and distance) to Hua Yue Hotel. There were two complications, (1) we did not have the Chinese name of the hotel (2) the taxi driver did not know its location. Unlike Malaysian taxis, taxis in Taiwan are equipped with GPS systems, very comfortable and they charge a fare rate.

The names of the buildings, streets, tourist sites and bus stops in Taiwan are mostly in Chinese. Hence we had to spend minutes roaming back and forth along the street, just to search for the hotel. Apparently the Chinese name is 花语酒店. We picked this hotel because of it's low price NTD880 and it is just a 12 minutes walk from Taoyuan Train Station.

Vuala! Check-in time.

Room looked rather old but quite spacious.

Toilet is clean. Toothbrush provided...phew, I left mine at home, oh oh :s

Clean bathtub. Glass panel in the bathroom. Say what?!

Just when I thought I could finally have a good night's sleep. There was a rumble, just like one of those resonant sound that an empty stomach make. That persistent, irritating noise kept me awake throughout the night. I promise you, it's neither my stomach nor my mum's. Apparently, the noise came from this...=.=

So this is what kept me awake. Erm..thank you, water cooler