While looking for some activities to occupy myself while DramaQueen was to be at a fanmeeting somewhere in the Xinyi neighborhood, I came across the Formosa Modern Tour in Xinyi on Klook; it's a tip based (2 hour) walking tour and you can either reserve your slot on Klook or LikeitFormosa website. Since I reserved via Klook, this review is based on my experience using the Klook platform.
Once the booking was made, an email was sent to my mailbox. On the day of the tour, a reminder was sent to confirm that the tour would be happening. At the time I was in Taipei, there was a passing typhoon, so there was intermittent rain, but thankfully it was not so heavy and made the walk a little more unique.
The meeting point was at Exit 5 of the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall MRT Station, just a few stops away from Ximending MRT Station.
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| Waiting for the guides and other group members to arrive. |
Since it was starting to drizzling, our first stop was the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, where our guides gave us a brief history of the memorial hall and mentioned that nowadays the area is a hotspot for the younger crowd to gather and practice their dance moves.
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| Taipei 101 in the distance |
The next stop was the Taipei City Hall, City Sqaure Hall and an introduction to Xinyi's own haunted hotel - Grand Hyatt Taipei which was in the vicinity. During this session the guides shared some anecdotes of their mayor and how most citizens respect and like him: he is a surgeon and independent from the political groups.
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| Walking in the intermittent rain was definitely quite the experience |
We headed to the Eslite Bookstore Mall there after and explored a little, there was even time for some bubble tea. 😆 The bookstore actually earns an income from renting out the other units to encourage customers to come through the doors, while encouraging people to get more interested in (buying) books and reading.
Our final stop was Taipei 101. Our guides gave a brief history and commentary of Taipei 101: it was previously known as the Taipei World Financial Center, and houses offices and restaurants as well as both indoor and outdoor observatories. They also shared that there is an annual marathon where people run up all the way to the top via the stairs.
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| Taipei 101 |
Fun Fact: The an animated man on the traffic lights are programmed differently for different occasions (e.g. they gave him a girlfriend on Valentines).
Conclusion: The neighborhood of Xinyi has everything from commercial, cultural and history; the tour definitely covers all aspects. The guides were nice and patient, everyone in the group were in pace and we even made new friends. Definitely recommended if you want something unique and
Guide to tipping:
- Nice: NT$100 - 200
- Great: NT$300 - 500
- Awesome: > NT$500
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