Yoohooooo~ misterchewy and I are back from our Taiwan trip! First time feeling so happy that our holiday was finally over! Before I delivered, I thought I badly needed to go on a short trip before I return to office and also to reward myself for my 9 months of ‘hard work’. HAHA. As first-time parents, we were too naïve to think that we wouldn’t miss our baby! Ended up having to video call home almost every night. I also didn’t factor in the breastfeeding part which is one huge obstacle and had to pump every now and then during the trip. Mad troublesome but for our darling girl, it was all worth it. This selfie was taken before we left for the airport, using the selfie rod that misterchewy bought for the trip 🙂
Our Taiwan travelogue will be divided into two parts because we travelled to Cingjing and Taipei. Happy reading ya! Before our midnight flight with Scoot, I pumped in the nursing room at T2 which had adequate facilities. Selfie before boarding!
Felt hungry a couple of hours later and got the hubs to order this for me. The Thai red curry was nubbad! After that I pumped at around 4am again at my seat! Got so exciting or not? I used my jacket to cover la and they had turned off the lights.
Wanna thank XCom Global for lending us this portable WiFi router which helped us to stay connected to the online world throughout our trip! XCom Global specializes in providing low-cost wireless Internet access rental services to business and leisure travellers, and is an established leader among international 3G/4G broadband companies worldwide. XCom Global aims to provide secure, user-friendly wireless Internet access at a reasonable price. It covers more than 170 countries and rates are 40% cheaper than Telco data roaming. For Taiwan, the flat rate per day is only $9 and what’s the best part? Up to FIVE devices can be connected to the router!
While other travellers had to rush and queue to buy their prepaid SIM cards, all we had to do was just switch on the device as soon as we touched down. Connected within seconds while still on the plane! The WiFi network name and password are conveniently labelled on the device. The rental process is idiot-proof! Simply fill in the order form here. You can choose to pick up the device or have it couriered to you at a small fee. Highly recommend getting your WiFi router before jet setting off for your trip!
The minute we cleared customs, I went to pump at the nursing room at Taoyuan International Airport. They call it breastfeeding rooms over in Taiwan. There is also a diaper changing station and the room looks really impressive!
This was where I pumped. So spacious and clean!
How to get to Cingjing from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1:
1) Take the Kuo Kuang Bus from airport to Taipei High Speed Rail (HSR) Station (also known as Taipei Main Station)
Fare: NT$125 per person (ticket can be bought at the airport)
Duration: Approximately 60 minutes
2) Take the High Speed Rail from Taipei HSR Station to Taichung HSR Station
Fare: NT$765 per person (strongly encouraged to book early here to enjoy discounted rate)
3) Take the e-go Cingjing Tour Bus from Taichung HSR Station to your Minsu in Cingjing
Fare: NT$450 per person
Duration: 90 – 120 minutes
*Alternatively, you can just take the e-go Cingjing Tour Bus from Taipei Main Station to Cingjing but note that the meeting time is 06:45 and the journey is estimated to be take 4 hours*
We were pretty amused by the cute appearance of this particular HSR that we boarded because of the cartoons from Cartoon Network.
Ahahaha can see the selfie stick -_-
We were still connected even though the train passed through the tunnel. Not like in Singapore where ppl go, “Argh.. Tunnel! No network!” Our only gripe was that the battery life of the WiFi router was only about 4 to 5 hours. The adaptor and charging cable are provided so you need to have your own portable power bank so that you can charge the router on the go.
I didn’t sleep well on the plane so I was conked out on the HSR. LOL. Was a little hungry when we reached Taichung so misterchewy bought railway bento which looked damn good!
Their 台鐵便當 is so popular! Saw many locals eating it at train stations. We ate on the E-go bus while en route to Cingjing. Damn, the ride was kinda bumpy initially and I was so afraid that the pork rib would fly out of out my hands. It’s a damn huge piece right! If drop on the floor very sayang. After eating I pumped on the bus. Purposely chose the last row seats when we boarded so that nobody could see.
Finally reached our choice of accommodation, 嵐山小鎮 (Dreamtown Minsu)! I wanted to stay at a minsu that is not so commonly picked by travellers so Starry Minsu and Sunnydale Minsu were struck off the list. The hubs was crazy enough to suggest staying at Old England Manor OMG. A night costs like $600 or more?! In the end, we settled for Dreamtown Minsu because firstly, their website is in English and secondly, I thought that their rooms looked quite pretty, and with a good view too!
As it was too early to check in, misterchewy helped me to ask if they had any breastfeeding rooms which was kinda funny really. The lady, whom she introduced herself as 二姐, looked sympathetic and opened up one of the rooms for me. Really appreciate her kind gesture! She even asked if I needed ice to store my milk.
If you had noticed the pattern, pumping and eating go hand in hand. LOL. Mad love the 大骨湯 that’s available at Taiwan’s 7-Eleven stores! Why don’t we have it in Singapore?!
After our satisfying snack, we hopped on the public bus using the 悠遊卡 (Easy Card) that we purchased at 7-Eleven. Next agenda was to have afternoon tea at Old England Manor! Our afternoon tea was actually quite early and could qualify as lunch but my uni friend who had been there before advised me to go early due to its popularity.
The weather was bad and it kept raining on and off! But that didn’t stop us from taking a selfie.
Or maybe two selfies 😛
Just goofing around~
We were served this special dessert before our high tea set. It’s like mango mousse with white chocolate in it. Damn good!
Savoury and sweet treats on a 3-tier high tea stand. Came with a huge pot of tea as well. The afternoon tea cost about NT$450 per person which was pretty ok I guess. You get to revel in the ambience and savor delicious pastries.
It was still drizzling when we left Old England Manor and while we were deciding where to go next, a couple (in the background) approached us to help take a photo for them. And this was what misterchewy did! He took selfie without me! T_T
We agreed that it wasn’t such a good idea to head down to Green Green Grassland because of the weather and called up the minsu folks to pick us up if it was convenient for them.
Collected our key and this was where we stayed for 2 nights! Kinda like chalet. Haha.
Our beautiful room! Amenities were adequate. There was a mini fridge for me to chill and freeze my milk. Toiletries such as toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, shampoo, soap, etc were all provided on a daily basis.
Dinner was not included but we decided to get the minsu people to prepare steamboat for us! It can get pretty cold in Cingjing when the sun goes down so it’s really good to have steamboat! Plus the view is quite awesome at Dreamtown’s cafeteria so we didn’t think about going anywhere else for steamboat although many people highly recommend Yinagu.
Huge bowl of meat and veggies! NT$250 per person and it’s non-refillable. Want more meat have to pay extra NT$100 which was what we did. Hehe.
We really took it nice and slow on our first day in Taiwan, Cingjing. Look out for our next post because we will be featuring our visit to Green Green Grassland and Carton King Restaurant! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂