Final Day In Taipei

(Click here to start from day 1 if you've missed the previous entries)

View from our hotel room window

I guess this is gonna be a shorter entry as compared with the entries of the previous few days since we have to make our way to the airport from the hotel for our flight home in the afternoon.
Having just woken and freshened myself up, I started taking a picture of the view outside our hotel room's window as you can see in the pic on the left. Well, I did mention yesterday that lots of buildings here in Taiwan could use some new paint jobs, didn't I?

Yesterday, I've also mentioned that I'm gonna give a last moment 'tight hug' to Taipei today since today is our last day here for this trip, meaning: I'm gonna cherish this final day and breathe in Taipei's cold air till the very last drop before they have to drag me kicking and screaming up the plane later.

Walking into the bathroom, I begin snapping this pic of the shower mechanism that I've really enjoyed using. Not only does the water get sprinkled out from the sprinkler, as per usual, you can also set the water to shoot out in little jet-streams at the same time through those round metallic parts below the sprinkler.

Do that and those little jet-streams will give additional concentrated washings for your body areas below the neck, like your back, etc. A nifty mechanism. Lots of my shower sessions doubled as playing-with-water sessions because of it. I'm sure gonna miss this.

We have finished packing our luggages and are now ready for checking out. Closing the door behind us as I take one last look at our hotel room, I wonder when we can be back again. I think my heart hurts.

Down at the hotel lobby, I started taking pictures:

The hotel lobby

The lobby's waiting area

大顺大饭店 (TS Hotel) may seem to have a rather spacious lobby in the photos above but in reality, it's actually small but comfy cozy. Free Wifi is available for house guests, just ask the reception for their Wifi password. There is also a single computer terminal in the lobby behind those two couches there by the plant for free Internet access 24-7.

大顺 is a simple no-frills comfortable hotel that provides cost effective accommodation and is located at an excellent and convenient location just a stone's throw away from the heart of 西门町 and the train station. Walking to the train station is just a couple minutes short walk away.

(Update from the future: Unfortunately, TS Hotel is no more. I'll miss it.)

JSP Burger

Done with our checking-out process and reconfirming with the always friendly, courteous and helpful hotel reception regarding our booking with 飞狗 transportation service for our ride to the airport later in the afternoon, we begin walking out of the hotel and the sweet cold air outside washes over us as we head towards 西门町.

We do not have enough time to travel out of 西门 and we have already returned our transportation cards yesterday anyway, so the plan is just to hang out at lovely 西门町. Walking by JSP Burger, I just have to take another photo of it again since we are gonna miss the burgers here.

Sigh, knowing that you are about to leave the place you love and which you are gonna miss is like waiting for an amputation operation that is about to happen. There is a heavy sadness about this.

西门町 this day

Ah, now that we are at 西门町 leisurely hanging around and doing some casual shopping, it's inevitable that we come across good old 阿宗麵線 again, which is the star mee sua delicacy of 西门町. If I'm not mistaken, their official website is this one.

Suffice it to say here that paying a visit to 西门町 without trying the mee sua at 阿宗麵線 is like going to Tokyo without trying their Ramen. You get the idea. There's pork in the mee sua, in case you didn't already know. Lots of folks are willing to eat standing outside here.

Well, it's an early Friday afternoon, so there isn't that much of a crowd here. We've spent our remaining time shopping around while breathing in the vibes of the place that will always remain in our memories.

It is time to say goodbye to 西门 as the hour approaches when we have to get back to the hotel for the booked coach from 飞狗 to come pick us up for the airport. The amputation begins and I have to leave a piece of myself here since I love 西门..

**Tightest Hug for 西门**

Waiting at the hotel lobby, the coach from 飞狗 soon arrives and we bid the hotel staffs goodbye as we begin hauling our luggages to the coach.
So long, TS. May I have another chance to play with your shower mechanism again some day in the future. Some day..

View across the road
from the transit point

During our previous virgin trip here, we didn't have to do a transit as we made our way to 桃园 airport from the hotel, so I'm surprised when the driver suddenly but politely announces that we have to disembark for a transit now that we are halfway to the airport.

So we are now disembarking with a groan and I have absolutely no idea where we are as I look around at my surrounding back out here in the cold again. On hindsight, we could have disembarked somewhere in or around 桃园.

Did I just hear you mutter a 'Duh'?

The transit admin booth
in front of the store

See the two women sitting at the booth there? They are the administrators for our transit (well, at least one of them is since the other one could just be a friend who came over to shoot the breeze, so I suspect). So we did the transit administration with them.

There's a store just behind them and I'm debating with myself if I should go use the washroom inside right at the back of the store since our transit transport will arrive at any moment and I've already seen other transit coaches come and go. Ah, what the hell, I'll just go take a leak quickly.

I got lucky, I'm standing outside the store again moments after having quickly gone to the washroom and our transit transport has just arrived. So after helping the driver to load up our luggages, we continue with our journey to the airport. Everything seems to be going by in fast-forward mode here at the transit point.

Arrival at 桃园 airport

We have arrived at the airport. After checking in, I went outside the airport terminal again to enjoy and breathe in every last bit of the cold weather again as I'm able to, since I'm conscious of the dreaded fact that I'll have to face the humid tropical shit we have for weather back on home-ground again soon.

Actually, it's pretty cold out here because of a rather hyper constant draft and I have to stand behind a pillar to shield myself a little. Then, this pretty air stewardess came over with a guy and they both stand in front of me around this litter bin, took out their cigarettes and started smoking while being completely exposed to the cold draft.

The stewardess is quite something, smoking out here in the chilly wind dressed only in her stewardess uniform and she doesn't even seem to flinch, much less shiver.

For myself, standing here outside alone while my Lioness is getting some warmth inside the terminal building, I begin to tell myself that should the humid weather back home become too much for me, all I'll need to do to feel better is to close my eyes and remember this very moment outside the airport terminal and the sensation I'm feeling right now.

For some strange reason, I begin to entertain the silly thought of taking a plastic bag, open it wide in the direction of the constant draft and trap as much of it and the cold air inside the plastic bag by tying it up and taking it home with me. Then should I need to beat the heat and humidity back home, I'll face the opening of the plastic bag towards myself, open it up and enjoy Taipei's cold again as the trapped air in the plastic bag rushes out towards me.

Sheesh.

But of course, I dropped the idea. And with that, I begin making my way back into the terminal while turning my head back constantly.

So long, Taipei. So long.

**Tightest Hug for Taipei**