Pre-Planning: I did this last minute and booked the ticket just less than 3 weeks before the trip. No extensive pre-planning like I usually do, I got 2 weeks of holiday from the office, and I decided to use it to complete one of my 2024/25 goals - The Taiwan Trip.
I used Notion to plan and track everything, I also make used of their AI function to ask what/how I should make use of the week I was in Taiwan. I went there during the busiest holiday (Christmas & New Year), so there was a difficulty in finding accommodation, had to jump from Airbnb and hotels 5 times during the short stay. I left Sofi with Af and went on this trip with my younger brother.
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Itinerary:
- Day 1: Taoyuan, Taipei
- Day 2: Jiufen, Taipei
- Day 3: Taoyuan
- Day 4: Taipei > Taichung
- Day 5: Taichung
- Day 6: Taichung > Taipei
- Day 7: Taoyuan
- Day 8: Beitou, Taipei
If I could repeat this again, I probably wouldn't go to Taichung on that date because everything was closed on that one free day we were in Taichung, and Taichung was far from Taipei - but, we had no other choice but to go out of the main city during those busy holidays.
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How much we walked: I walked and hiked around 75 km in that week. Love it. I walked around 7 - 14 km per day. I wore good walking shoes, so my legs were not in pain, but my back was sore because I brought my backpack everywhere. I guess this is a sign that I need to strengthen my upper body. Also, extra socks, always bring extra socks and of course, shoe deodorizer.
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Return flight tix: This also includes 7kg+ extra carriers, side-by-side seats, and flight insurance.
Total: RM 1920 / 2 = RM 960 per person
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Accommodation: I planned this last minute, during the busiest season in the year (Christmas + New Year holiday). So everything was almost fully booked, we had to book from Airbnb, Agoda, and several hotel from Trip app : 5 places in a week.
Total: RM 1643.26 / 2 = RM 821.63 per person
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Camera: I bought a pre-loved
Papershoot Camera as a backup -
sempena we were going to Taiwan, it would be fun to use a Made in Taiwan product (as I was aiming for one for a while now, and it was my early birthday present). I'm planning to use the pictures I took from this camera in the zine.
Preloved Camera = RM 300
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Insurance: I bought the insurance from TnG app brought to you by AIA.
Total: RM 58 for a week in Taiwan
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Winter Attire: I used my old winter attire (still works wonderfully even after 6 years from the only trip I managed to use). So, for the winter season above 15°C, these worked for me:
- Uniqlo heat tech shirt long sleeve +
- Uniqlo Ultra Light Down +
- Uniqlo Winter Coat
- Long john + jeans
But below 0 - 15°C back in the day, I also added another thick winter sweater + long johns + extra shirt. Even then, the coldness crept in and I can't function.
What I would change in the future for my winter attire? I would exchange jeans for something more comfortable and versatile. So I can have pants with more pockets during long walks and hikes, stretchy for happy tummy and not as rigid as jeans (maybe dah tua) and sweater for sleeping/home use sbb tanak campur dgn baju luar during travel kn, lupa. Tido mcm cocoon dah every night.
I think it is easy to create a capsule wardrobe for winter trip sebab I managed to only use 2 long sleeve shirts tukar2 the whole week: the dark brown one and the black one.
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On App:
Klook: To avoid using cash and queue up + I wanted to collect points, I just used klook app to see any attractions that I wanted to go to and bought the ticket from Klook. Very useful.
- Easycard Taiwan - RM 40.90 (this card is like TnG, buy it early and pick it up at the airport, can topup at their machine)
- Bus Ticket Taipei - Jiufen - RM 12.35
- XPark Taiwan Aquarium Ticket - RM 80.95
- "Art Nouveau" Light & Shadow Exhibition - RM 61.39
Trip.com: It is my first time, yes, I booked all the hotels through Trip. I compared all the basics: Agoda, Booking, Airbnb but found all my accommodation through Trip.com.
Google Maps: To find places to eat, to hike, to explore.
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Internet: Just did roaming for 8 days, I think it was around RM 100 from Hotlink app.
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Payments: As a pre-caution, I made sure I activated 3 debit cards (hahaha, I know, a bit extra kan).
- So I used up almost all payments in Family Mart, 7/11, Uniqlo, Cosmed, Watson and Daiso using my TnG Debit Card. It is easy because I could just topup the ewallet and control my spending (and to avoid any scam ke accidental big payment).
- I linked my Wise debit card to Uber when we needed to use Uber there.
- As for my Maybank debit card, that was "in case of emergency card" (if we needed to book something bigger like flight ticket or hotel).
I brought RM 800 cash but it wasn't enough - most of the restaurants and small shops asked for cash or Line Pay (if I'm not mistaken). So, bringing more cash would be the best way to shop locally. But you can definitely use cards in the city - local Muslim restaurants, no cards, mostly cash.
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Bag: I used Bellroy Workpack together with me throughout the whole travel (probably around 2kg daily) - this is where I keep all the important stuff and basic necessities (map, passport, money, daily snack, tissue, book, camera, and water bottle). Then I borrowed Ma's luggage for the other stuffs like clothes (sebab her luggage is only 2.5kg when empty). Paling mencabar is keeping winter clothes in such a small luggage (answer: compression pack/vacuum bag).
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Food: Tayah la bawak Brahim's ke anything pre-cooked, semua kena rampas kat airport T^T It would be advisable to bring snacks (energy bar, kurma, kismis, nuts sbb very useful for outing). Also, bring daily fiber + vitamin sachets. Other than that, we dined out because we stayed in hotels, mana boleh masak2 pun. At this age, sapa larat makan meggi lagi. Halal foods were easy to find on Google Maps (esp in main cities), just be ready to walk 1-3 km from train stations.
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Note: I would definitely wanted to come again, like seriously considering to return to enjoy more slow hikes and nature walks. I've never loved any other place since Japan tau T^T Nasib bawak adik yang boleh layan pergi hiking, tqiu Mi :F
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