CH200: Renewed - Taipei!

So, finally, the Taipei trip is beginning to take shape! I've booked our hotel and tours during the length of the stay all in one day (yesterday, Tuesday, Jan 21) - the day when my credit card cycle was reset. A lot of stress leading up to that day considering the expenses leftover from the previous cycle (which should be settled soon!!!). So far, I have below itinerary drafted out.

Jan-28
430pm: Arrive
Take Bus to city and train to hotel
Explore Area (Ximending)

Jan-29
10am: Arrival
Lunch
1pm -6pm: Wulai Aboriginal Village Tour (1500 NTD/pax)
7pm: Shilin Night Market"

Jan-30
8am-12nn: Northern Coast Tour (Keeling City, Keelung Harbour, Buddha Statue, Yeliu Park, Queen's Head)
Lunch
1pm-6pm: Tour (Chiufen Village, Chinkuashih Village,Pitou Cape, Nanya Rock Formations, Bay of Two Colors)
7pm: Long Shan Temple
8pm: Hwahsi Night Market

Jan-31
8am-12nn: Tour (Presidential Building, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Martyr's Shrine, Traditional Taiwanese Temple, National Palace Museum, Handicraft Center)
1pm-3pm: Confucius Temple, Xingtian Temple
4pm: Taipei 101 Mall
5pm: Go up Taipei 101
6pm: Dinner Taipei101 Mall Shopping
8pm: Ximending Shopping

Feb-01
9am: Maokong Gondola Ride and Maokong  (Zhinan Temple) Mountain walk
12nn: Lunch at one of Maokong Mountain Tea House
2pm: Sun Yat Sen Memorial
3pm: Fine Arts Museum
5pm: More shopping at Ximending(in case Ma didn’t get enough)
7pm: Dinner in Ximending Area
9pm: Pack and head to airport for Mama's flight

Feb-02
1am: Mama's flight
Clubbing till late
Checkout before leaving hotel?
11am: Museum of Contemporary Arts
1pm: National Taiwan Museum
230pm:  Pack and Prepare to leave for airport
3pm: Airport
535pm: Flight
1030pm: Singapore

The hotel I booked is quite okay looking based on the pictures. It looks hip. We're staying in the Ximending area so we're close to some shopping areas and food places. I guess, I had it as a priority to stay in the area after reading that the hip bars are also around there. I have time on the 28th and Feb 2 by myself and I'm not going to spend that stuck in a room watching cable! ;)

Now, as the 28th of January approaches, I'm getting more and more excited! I just hope that during the tour and going around that it won't be super crowded. I also hope that there won't be any traffic jams during our tour that could jeopardize the timing. I opted to go for the tours so my mom doesn't have to go around walking too much or commuting. This vacation after all was organize as her 60th birthday celebration! Although, so far, the only contributors I have from the family is my dad who committed to shell out 500 usd to pay for a bracelet/watch/jewelry as a gift to my mom (awwww....).

Now, time to start organizing the finances! I want to be able to shop for some things when I do get there and not just have to carry my mom's spoils for her. The night markets in Taipei are something I also look forward to experiencing. Forget the diet (again!), time to binge on street food and maybe try a shot of snake blood.

Anyone been to Taipei who can suggest places to visit based on the itinerary? I've researched through several sources like tripadvisor, wikia, and other apps geared for travelling (Triposo, etc) and that's the best I can come up with suited for a gen-y and senior citizen haha.