How Can Malaysians Travel To Taiwan For 7 Days With Only RM1900 In 2018

1. Book flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur – Taipei (the capital of Taiwan)

If you book a few months in advance, the flight ticket will be cheaper. In this case, we used AirAsiaGo and we got two-way trip tickets for as low as RM868. You might be able to get it at a cheaper rate if you purchase your tickets during non peak season.

The journey to Taipei from Kuala Lumpur: 4 hours of flight (from KL – Taipei)

Flight Ticket = RM868 (Round Trip)

2. Book a Hotel

We used Expedia to book our hotels and there are a lot of hotels ranging from different prices. Since we’re on a tight budget, we chose a decent budget hotel with clean and comfortable room at around RM115 per night.

Hotel Budget = RM105 x 6 nights

= RM721/2 (shared with 2 person)

= RM360 each

3. Internet is all you need when you are in Taiwan (4G everywhere with unlimited data!)

SIM cards are readily available for tourist and travelers in Taiwan. The following unlimited data 4G SIM Packages are available at airports including Taipei Taoyuan Airport.

Taiwan is one of the few countries that offers real unlimited 3G and 4G internet on daily packages.

• 3 day unlimited pass + NT$100 credit = NT$300 (RM42)
• 5 day unlimited pass + NT$50 credit = NT$300 (RM42)
• 5 day unlimited pass + NT$300 credit = NT$500 (RM70)
• 7 day unlimited pass + NT$150 credit = NT$500 (RM70)
• 10 day unlimited pass + NT$100 credit = NT$500 (RM70)
• 15 day unlimited pass + NT$100 credit = NT$700 (RM98)
• 15 day unlimited pass + NT$250 credit = NT$800 (RM112)
• 30 day unlimited pass + NT$430 credit = NT$1000 (RM140)

Since you are going to be here for 7 days 6 nights, we suggest you to get the 7 day unlimited pass which will cost you NT$500 (about RM70).

Having internet connection throughout Taipei would really come in handy as everything can be found online and you would never get lost.

Unlimited 4G internet for 7 days = RM70.

4. Transportation in Taiwan

Once you reach Taoyuan Airport, you can take a bus to Taipei Main Station (the central part of Taipei). Busses leave frequently and cost NT$125 (about RM17.5) per ticket. Get down at Taipei Main Station as it is the primary interchange station for the city.

You then can get around in Taipei using their MRT. The Taipei MRT is the most convenient way to travel around Taiwan’s capital city. The Taipei metro is both cheap and convenient to ride.

Taipei MRT stations are clearly labelled in English, and will take you to the majority of the important tourist stops. All the exits at MRT stations have big maps in English on their walls where you can see Taipei attractions such as museums, temples, and parks.

Transportation Budget in Taiwan (Airport):

i) Bus from Taoyuan International Airport to Taipei Main Station = RM17.5 (NT$125)

ii) Bus from Taipei Main Station to Taoyuan International Airport = RM17.5 (NT$125)

Taipei MRT:

MRT in Taipei

Rides on the metro system are not free, but they’re cheap. If you plan on doing a lot of traveling on the Taipei MRT, you’ll want to get an EasyCard (similar to our Malaysian Touch n go card), a ‘touch-and-go’ IC ticketing system for the Taipei Metro and bus services.

The card is the size of a credit card and will cost NT$500 (about RM70) to set up NT$100 for a deposit and the other NT$400 (about RM56) that you will be able to use to travel. You can use the card to get a 20% discount on rides in the Taipei MRT.

The MRT’s fares are distance-based, so the further you travel, the more you pay. A fare for a single-trip in Taipei’s subway will be between NT$15 (RM2.10) and NT$65 (RM9.10), but we doubt you’ll be spanning the full distance of the MRT.

Transportation Budget in Taiwan (MRT):

i) Using MRT with EasyCard = RM70 (NT$500)

5. Food

Since our budget is about spending RM1,800 in 7 days 6 nights, you need to be a little stingy when it comes to food. But don’t worry, there are lots of good food with affordable price. We will explain also where to get Halal food for all our Muslim readers as well.

Street Food Taiwan

Try to avoid ordering crab dishes and other expensive seafood. But you still can have a good meal for about NT$120 to NT$160 (RM16.80 – RM22.40) for each meal. You can actually save more in some places.

Taipei is well-known for their night markets, which open all over the city in the evening, selling a huge range of clothes and household goods, but their main attraction is the street food.

Here’s a list of the bigger-scale and more popular night markets in Taipei city and the street snacks that they are famous for:

1. Tonghua Night Market

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbSaqtxj130/

https://www.instagram.com/p/1imImZJrM0/

Address: Linjiang Street, Da-an District, Taipei 106

Opening hours: 6pm to 2am daily

2. Shilin Night Market

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeNtUqOnKXQ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeNqmeQD93W/

Address: No. 101, Jihe Road, Shilin District, Taipei City

Opening hours: 5pm to 1am daily

3. Gongguan Night Market

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMRCYsYDFkN/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP2Io-Tj87U/

Address: Section 3, Luosifu Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City

Opening hours: 6pm to 12am daily

4. Huaxi Street Night Market

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd-PPdtHVjD/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc_jRiYDs62/

Address: Intersection of Guangzhou Street and Huaxi Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City

Opening hours: 4pm to 12am daily

5. Raohe Street Night Market

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeNihBMAv4J/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeOUgoOnNPT/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeOAvW3js3s/

Address: Raohe Street and Sec. 4, Bade Road and Fuyuan Street, Taipei City

Opening hours: 5pm to 12am daily

6. Ningxia Night Market

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeNmoe8nOzl/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeLVfQWFrZu/

Address: Ningxia Road, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103

Opening hours: 6pm to 12am daily

7. Lehua Night Market

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeDMibGhGp5/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdqDqYEF4Li/

Address: Yongping Road, Yonghe District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 234

Opening hours: 6pm to 12am daily

Food budget for 7 days = RM490 (NT$3500)

Halal Food in Taipei, Taiwan

Coming from the land of ‘Xiao long bao’, you may be surprised to discover that Taiwan has not one, but two halal certification boards. The Taiwan Halal Integrity Development Association (THID) and the Chinese Muslim Association have both taken up the mantle of Halal watchdog.

Association differentiates “halal restaurants”; restaurants owned by Muslims, and “Muslim friendly restaurants”; restaurants owned by non-Muslims), both are fully Halal certified and safe for muslims to enjoy.

Which Restaurants are Halal?

Taiwan boasts a surprising range of halal food options covering cuisines as varied as Chinese, Taiwanese, Indian and even Egyptian!

If you really want to pamper yourself and you think dining halal food in a 5 star hotel’s restaurant, we suggest you to dine at Palais De Chine’s restaurant. They have a vast variety of food choices, buffet style!!

A warning for street food: most of the meats are probably cooked with lard, so you may want to try asking the vendors as a precaution, or ordering the numerous tasty vegetarian dishes instead.

Here is a list of Halal Restaurants in Taipei, Taiwan. Check this website out.

6. Activities in Taiwan

i). Santorini of Taiwan at Jiu Fen Old Street

Cost: Free

ii). Gold Mine at Gold Ecological Park

Cost: Free

iii) Golden Waterfall

Cost: Free

iv). Yin Yang Sea

Cost: Free

v). Mount Keelung

Cost: Free

Vi). Long Shan Temple

Cost: Free

Vii). Taipei Grand Mosque

Cost: Free

Viii) Taipei 101

Cost: NT$500 (RM60)

There are more places in Taipei to see. There are too many of them in fact and we could not include all of them in the list. To check out more of tourist spots in Taipei, check out this website

7. Shopping Spree

Shopping in Taiwan is a place for you shopaholics. Certain things here are pretty cheap depending on what you want to get. We did not include any budget here as it will vary depending on individual tastes. If you really want to go on a shopping spree in Taiwan, we suggest you to bring extra cash.

8. Overall Cost Breakdown

Flight Ticket (Two ways) = RM868 (could be lower if you book in advance and during nonpeak days)

Hotel – RM104 x 6 – RM721/2 (shared room) = RM360 each

Transport from Taoyuan International Airport to Taipei Main Station = RM35 (roundtrip)

Transport in/around Taipei using EasyCard = RM70

Food =RM490 (for 7 days)

Internet = RM70 (for unlimited internet 7 days)

Overall = RM1,893 for 7 days 6 nights in Taiwan