Day 16: Taiwan, Zai Jian!

We left early for the airport. With the amount of shopping we had accumulated, we figured we should leave lots of time for check-in (we were certain we were over the baggage limit) and to claim all the VAT refund we were due.

We opted for a taxi. From Tango Xinyi, we would have had to make our way to Taipei Main Station for a transfer to an airport-bound bus otherwise. With all that luggage, it was not an option. We gave the job to a taxi driver hanging around outside the hotel. We usually prefer not to deal with touts but hey, the price he quoted, 850NT (S$42.50), seemed reasonable enough.

Anyway the ride to the airport was uneventful and we checked in with plenty of time to claim our refund, despite being a good seven kilos over our combined baggage limit (thank you, SQ, for not charging us extra!) We then found ourselves with spare NT$...

We wandered around and stumbled on Hello Kitty galore!

Hello Kitty timezone display

Hello Kitty goes travelling

Hello Kitty celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival

Hello Kitty celebrates aboriginal culture

Hello Kitty celebrates Duanwu Jie

Hello Kitty celebrates the Taiwanese Lantern Festival

Hello Kitty celebrates the Lunar New Year

and in case one felt the urge to replicate the character, there were...

instructions for drawing Hello Kitty!

Hello Kitty and friends teaching kiddies their numbers

Bizarre or kawaii, depending on whether one is a fan of Hello Kitty.

We were so early we even needed some lunch, at least I did.

douhua with yuyuan (150NT/S$7.50)

douhua stall

noodle stall

dan zai mian set

Then it was goodbye, Taiwan, till we meet again.

no, not an A380

our last meal from Taiwan

our last meal from Taiwan