Before 2018 ends, it is time for my year-end essay! I will compensate for my inability to update the last few months with this mega post.
Compared to the holidays of the previous years, this year is quite laid back. It was not as frantic as before.
Ayala Malls Circuit’s Christmas decoration
One of the things I am proudest of this 2018 is that I was able to make better choices for my health. This includes a change in my diet, and a better drive to exercise regularly.
For our last day in Taipei, Mon still had some last minute souvenir shopping to do. This is honestly my least favorite part. As Ximending Night Market is just a cartwheel away from the inn, Mon has already bookmarked the shops he wanted to visit.
Most of the stuff I will be giving to family and friends had been taken care of the night before. So for the morning’s adventure, I will just be tagging along. We also planned to visit a cat cafe somewhere in Taipei in the afternoon.
The prices of the boxes of mochi were nearly the same as Carrefour. Mon also meticulously looked for small non-food items for his family. Meanwhile, I just sat outside every bench or chair I could find. Before the end of his shopping, I also bought boxes of pastries to be given to my family and his. I also used my credit card for this one-time purchase (NTD 750).
Searching for the perfect pair of earrings
By the third day, we have been already getting on each others’ nerves. This was quite expected like clockwork during our trips. Mon wanted to just rest and wait out our trip to Shifen and Jiufen via Klook, which will start by 1:30 pm. I, on the other hand, thought that perhaps we could squeeze an attraction in the morning.
Returning to Jiantian Station, the stop for Shilin Night Market, I insisted in visiting the National Martyr’s Shrine. However, there were no buses servicing the area that time, and it will take another 2-hour roundtrip before reaching the place.
Searching on Google, I looked for the nearest attraction: the Confucius Temple.
At Taipei Confucius Temple
Vanishing point
Our 2nd day is a special day: it is our 10th!
We were able to finally sleep well from the night before. But before hitting the sack, I gave Mon a simple keepsake to commemorate our 10th year. I initially had no idea what to give him. However, I eventually realized that it was fitting to give him a ring.
On our first year where we celebrated in Baguio, we had this simple silver ring bought from Cubao. It only makes sense to have another one in gold.
Happy 10 years!
After our usual breakfast from 7/11, we then prepared for the day ahead.
We topped our Easy Cards again with another NTD 100. To go to Longshan Temple, we took the train from Ximen Station to Longshan Station. I sort of regret wearing this PLAY T-shirt. It was hot, hot, hot outside.
Blazing heat at Longshan Temple
First of all, it was a relief that Taiwan has extended the visa-free entry to Philippine passport holders until July 2019. However, they have shortened it to 15 days from the former 30.
We will be in Taipei for less than a week for our 10th year celebration! The weather was not too good in Manila, and I was hoping we’d have a stress-free night flight.
At NAIA Terminal 3
I wore Doc Martens, but NAIA’s airport security was just too much
We arrived around 9:00 PM at NAIA Terminal 3, even if our flight will not leave not until 11:00 PM. This is obviously a red-eye flight to Taipei.
It is worth noting that of all our trips together, this is my first time to religiously list all of our expenses. At the end of the series, I will be listing our expenses. For our pocket money, I have only used earnings from Google Adsense. The hotel booking (via Booking.com) was also paid for in advance using Google Adsense.
BRYOLOGUE does not earn much Adsense-wise. However, I maintain another website that pretty much takes care of its own. So let us see how far our pocket money will bring us. LOL
Both of us have been on keto diet since May, so we are unsure how we will survive in carb-rich Taiwan. We even had to bake a loaf of bread and a small batch of brownies because we did not want to be kicked out of ketosis! This was, as expected, a big challenge as a keto traveler.
And just like that, another year has ended! While everybody on Facebook is busy submitting their year-end essay, I chose to post a haiku because, well, I have this page to write to my heart’s content! ^_^
The haiku is roughly translated as:
‘EAT’
Last day of the year
And later, it’ll be the first
So go, eat some more!
Not shading everyone on Facebook, writing lengthy stuff about their year. I was just being cheeky! I actually enjoy reading them, save for some with irrelevant #humblebrag.