Taiwan Travelogue: Day 1, H132 Hostel Review
Finally managed to get a proper breather and we decided to head to Taiwan! It was a country I had never been to, and had only heard about its amazing food and beautiful scenery. Was it just a myth or were all the raves about Taiwan true? Only one way to find out :PWe flew Tiger Airlines as there was a flight at 11am ish which landed in Taipei on a Saturday around 2pm? That was perfect because we could sleep in yet reach in time for the night markets! We landed at Taoyuan international airport, and grabbed an express bus into the city which dropped us off at Taiwan Main Station, where our first accommodation was at. Was reminiscing a bit when Roommates (korean variety show) went to Taipei! It's really cheap to take a bus out (around SGD$6) and it comes at frequent intervals (15-20mins), plus takes about the same time to get to the city centre, so you can consider it over taking a cab. For more information on transport out of Taoyuan Airport, check this website.
Our plan for the day was to check into our hostel, freshen up a bit, head to the night markets, head back to the hostel to shower, then partyyyy! We kind of followed that plan, well, continue reading about that and you'll find out what happened.
We stayed at H132 Hostel the first night as hotels we wanted to stay at were all fully booked, and this 5 rating hostel opening suddenly came up, so we thought, why not? This was the first hostel I had ever stayed in, in my entire life, and I thoroughly scanned through the reviews before deciding to go for it. All comments was that it was clean, and the only complaint was that it was a little tough to locate because their entrance was a little obscure.
They were right. I completely walked past this the first time and had to walk backwards a bit because the numbers jumped lol. The hostel is on the second floor, so you have to be prepared to carry your luggage up! My room was on the 4th floor so you can imagine me lugging it up for 4 levels... This place is a short walk from Taipei main station, which makes it very convenient to get around!
The reception on the second floor. One thing I really really liked about this hotel was how friendly the staff were and how homely the whole atmosphere felt! We later bumped into this lady while she was going home from her shift and she still greeted us happily, even giving us suggestions on where to go!
The room was very basic, a bed, a small table, a tv, a small window, a clean toilet and shower, which is basically everything we needed. The room had enough space for me to open my huge check-in sized luggage. The toilet also smelt like disinfectant, and there were no traces of any insects around. Love how the place looks really modern and new, which is always a plus!
One of the only qualms was that the pillow was reaaally soft, which took a while to get used to. There were english channels on the TV for nights when we were bored!
We paid more for a private, en-suite bathroom because I don't really like communal toilets and sharing dorms with strangers after my experiences in NTU. Here's a picture of our simple and clean toilet. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash are provided in the form of sachets, which were pretty decent though they ran out really fast. Water was hot and the power of the shower head was pretty good. Towels are provided at no additional charge!
Cute house rules haha. Free Wifi yay!
The communal toilets are on the 3rd floor, which I snapped a picture of just in case any of you were interested! There are two showers! If I remembered correctly, they're unisex.
Back to the second floor, there is a chill out area for people to mingle, talk or just plan their day's activities. Love the colour scheme which injected fresh liveliness in the place!
The other side of the relaxing area. While we were there, we saw many guests from different countries like Korea, China and Hong Kong!
The second floor also comes with a kitchen where you can get complimentary breakfast made up of bread and some fruits. Their tap also supplies hot water for your coffee or tea!! The only thing that ticked me off was that some guests did not wash up after themselves, or that they washed up in a disgusting manner. What do I mean by disgusting? Well, let's just say that they basically scooped everything off their plate into the sink and thus clogging it with butter/strawberry etc. It was NOT a pleasant sight. Kudos to the staff there who cleaned it up though!! This is a hostel, and the staff aren't your personal maids geez.
Everyone removes their footwear once they step into the hostel! Was a little worried for my shoes hahah.
Overall, it was a really comfortable stay and I would highly recommend H132 as a great, value-for-money location to stay at in Taipei. This review was not sponsored and neither did H132 engage me to write for them. Directions were provided to us once we made our booking via hostelz.com
H132 Hostel
2F., 132, Section 1, Zhongshan North Road
Zhongshan District
Taipei
Thanks for reading! Keep checking back to find out more adventures!
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