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Taipei 2023: Flying (Star)lux
posted : Thursday, November 23, 2023
Day to day report for the Taipei trip!
Starlux only has one flight a day between Sg and Taipei and the outbound flight is on early afternoons, and it being a Saturday meant I could 睡到自然醒 (my 自然醒 is pretty early these days anyway), take my own sweet time and still reach airport early enough to be able to spend some time in lounge. Although, Starlux had gained so much popularity that virtually every flight is full and people arrive promptly 3 hours before to check in and so I found myself facing a horrendous queue - no separate line for baggage drop off either even though I had checked in online. Oh well. It ate a bit into my lounge time but no complaints I guess, I still reached lounge (Plaza Premium again) early enough to have both breakfast and lunch offerings, though admittedly they didn’t have a large spread (3 dishes only maybe?).  Breakfast offerings are a bit slim, if you don’t count the all day signature laksa and chicken rice (which I don’t quite get why people rave about the chicken rice)  Lunch was better, maybe coz I had first dips  Some time for plane spotting too, this lounge is in a good spot  Much was said about their 4k IFE screen, which I didn’t think was a big deal until I was on board  Cutesy safety briefing video  Went around for snacks and I duly requested for a first glass of 特调 (racking my brain for the correct term until I overheard a nearby passenger uttered it). Twilight Mojito - Rum, Green tea and orange. I like my fruity concoctions.  Rewatched Apple of my eye to get into the mood, then spent the rest of the time watching map which oddly is one of the things I do to pass time  Choice between a conventional grilled chicken thigh (which also looked not bad) or prawn masala, decided to be a bit adventurous. I think it’s okay, meal was quite complete too Flight got delayed by almost an hour as we lined up to take off (there were EVA and Scoot flights to Taipei at around the same time too, amongst others), so we reached Taipei past 7pm. Immigration was almost queue-less and I got out of the airport pretty early (side note - failed to win anything from the lucky draw booo) - exchanged my train tickets (though I realized I could have just used the 悠游卡but my last trip to Taipei was 9 years ago and I had forgotten many minor details like this) and got to Taipei Main Station by 830pm. The Airport Express section is a bit far from the actual Main Station and I have never been here in my past two trips, plus there’s a fair bit of construction work on ground so had a bit of difficulty navigating myself to my accommodation of the night.  For collection, I guess Of course I got there in the end, though they did mention that reception closes at 8pm so it’s self check in for any arrivals after (they left key cards in safety boxes and sent the passcode in advance). I figured that I won’t be spending much time here so I went for the cheapest (and yet still decent) option available.  Room at Re-Change Hotel Taipei. They call themselves a Hotel maybe due to poor translation maybe hahah. Across the street from Taipei Main Station (the actual one) though as I found out it was a bit of a detour and walk from the Airport Express station. Decent for a one night stay (or more, if on budget).  Taipei convenience stores I missed you! Although if I were to be honest Japan’s still win hands down.  Supper. And called it a day! |
