Taipei Shopping

Along ChungChing South Road, there more than hundred of bookstores that selling various kind of books.. Chinese text books, old books and new books.

It known as Bookstore street in Taipei.

What to buy: Books, lot of books.

How it survive? 45% discount from the selling price!!!!!

Well, the owner told me that he is not given this discount to everyone.... it is only for book lovers. But I think it should add another reason, the owner's mood.

Quality bookstore claimed that they sell the cheapest books in Taiwan... not sure how true it is, but if you are lucky, you get good discount as I got. Normally, customers get at least 20% discount from the selling price, which is more or less the same with other bookstores, but when the owner likes you, you get a fantastic experience here.

There are some critics too. Some says the owner give good discount to pretty ladies only (wierd, I am a man with dirty look, I still got the discount), and the owner like to stamp the bookstore's mark on sold books (it is ok for me as a souvenir from this wierd bookstore).

The most incredible behavior of this bookstore is the owner always say, if you don't like the book, as long as it is not written anything, not bent... return to the bookstore, you get refund.

30 years of business, they never expand the shop, never renovate the shop, and still survive.... wierd!!!!

What to buy: Books, but only Chinese books. What else you expect from an old bookstore in Taipei apart from Chinese books???

What to pay: God knows

Most of the book lovers, especially Chinese readers, visit to Eslite Bookstore at DunHua South Road is a must-do in Taipei.

Being the first 24hours Chinese bookstore in the world, or may be the first bookstore overall.... how can you miss it.... if got nothing better to do... no clubbing, no night life, just wanna sit down somewhere to get a moment of freedom... this should be the place.

Clean and bright atmosphere, smell good coffee, you'll find there are still a lot of people even during 2am....

What to buy: Books, Chinese and some English books too. Some says don't have to buy, you can actually finish the whole book there and no one will question.

What to pay: Discount price if you are member, but not worth it if you are not stay in Taiwan

If there is an award, Shilin Night Market might be all-time top three for the travellers to Taipei.

One of my friends when 12 night with his 14 nights stay in Taipei.... sound crazy but it is real.

Hanging around in Shilin Night Market is a bit different nowadays. The new indoor market right beside Jian Tan MRT station is majory for those food stalls and the old Shilin night market still remain and for various products. Cheap product, discounted product and expensive product too... especially fruit.

If you intend to buy food, don't buy in Shilin Market, it is for tourist... go to the supermarket opposite City Jungle Mall, they sell cheap.

What to buy: Clothes, Bags, Shoes, DVDs, and of course food.

If you are bored with the tea, and just wanna buy some other stuffs, you can make the change. Buy the flower tea as a gift.

Flower tea is actually flower but come with the tea fragance.

Normally, it is using clay teapot for the tea, but there is one type of flower tea should use glass teapot. It has special features that when it is boiling .... there is a flower blooming in the water.

The name "Nan Bei Huo" or "North South Goods" in English refers to all dry products such as Dry Fish, Abalone, Encovy, etc.... for Chinese cooking.

In DiHua street where the old Taipei City center, there are more than 200 shop selling "Nan Bei Hou"

In the past, it was only for wholesales, but as tourist visited often and the demands are great.... so they started their tourist business too.

What to pay: Price vary from Products

Probably the biggest night market in Taipei city, you can find pretty much everything in Shilin Night Market (Shilin Ye Shi). In fact, think I spent the most money here in my week in Taipei. For starters, things here are cheap and shop owners will knock off a few more dollars if you bargain. If you like shopping, there are plenty of shops here. Walk around and compare prices though because many of the shops sell similar things. It's mostly youth-oriented fashion so if you're young and love to shop, you'll probably go crazy. Best thing is, cheap doesn't mean aesthetics are compromised. The clothes look pretty good, actually. You can get the cutest hats and scarves and socks. I managed to get cool watches for NT240. There are also quite a few DVD/CD shops here - a boon for those who like Asian films or Japanese anime but can't find them in their own countries. Beyond the mundane, I also got a seal of my Chinese name made here for about NT750. There's also a pet and games district somewhere in the maze. And of course, the ubiquitious street food stalls selling all kinds of unhealthy but must try food. I actually came back one more time just to eat at the food centre (a separate structure from the maze of shops).

What to buy: Anything and everything! But my favourite buy was the seal I had made of my name.

What to pay: Cheap - you can get all sorts of stuff between the range of NT300 to NT1000.

I found the major department stores (Taipei 101, Shinkong Mitsukoshi, New York New York) expensive. Maybe it was because I visited Taipei in winter and winter clothing is generally more expensive. But after a bit, I gave up on the malls. Anyway, if you live in Asian cities, the shops you can find in malls in your own country are more or less the same ones in Taipei malls.

So if like me, you don't have a lot to spend and want something different, forget the malls and head for Ximending instead. It's a big shopping district with an eclectic tenant mix, so you'll see pricier boutiques side by side with smaller independent ones - and that also means there's something for everyone. If you like high street fashion, this is the place for you! It's a youth hub, so you'll see a lot of young people there in the evenings, many of them decked out in Japanese-influenced clothing. But beyond clothing, there are also CD/DVD shops, cutesy stationary stores, a Working House branch (a kind of upper class sundry store), Eslite bookstore etc. as well as a movie district if you feel like catching a movie while you're there. You can also stuff yourself silly with junk food because street stalls are everywhere. There are also plenty cafes and restaurants. I spent hours there but even then, I don't think I've seen the whole place in detail.

What to buy: Anything and everything! It's a one stop entertainment district.

What to pay: Prices vary from the very cheap to the more expensive.