Hotels Review

Hotel Review: Inn Cube Ximen

September 22, 2016

Hotel: Inn Cube 品格子旅店 - 西門館
Address: 8F, No.45, Section 2, Hankou Street, Wanhua District, Ximending, Taipei, Taiwan 10842.
萬華區漢口街二段45號8樓, 西門町, 台北市, 台灣 10842 Tel no: 886223618008

I’m a solo traveller but this time I have two friends following me to Taiwan for the first time, therefore I booked one single room for myself and a double room for them. This is my first time staying at this hotel. After searching for some budget hotels around Ximending area, I decided to take this one due to the price and the location which is directly in Ximending shopping district area and it’s very near to the Ximen MRT station which can connects you to many other places around Taipei.

Since we have our luggage with us, we decided to take Uber to help us with the luggage and to take us to the hotel. Luckily we paid someone to take us there because after arriving, I can honestly tell you that it’s not very easy to find or to see where the entrance to the hotel is because the huge signboard is placed on top of the tall building for those who are at a further distance to see.

The entrance doesn’t have its own signboard, just a stand-up poster because the hotel is inside a building in which there are two other hotels at different floors. That’s the reason they cannot put a big signboard at the entrance, but don’t worry, taxi drivers know the streets very well.

Just tell them the address as stated above this post. No point telling them the name Inn Cube because they do not know the hotel. Tell them it’s no.45, Hankou street, Wanhua District in Ximending. The corner shop of that row is a Japanese restaurant named Mala Hotpot with many Japanese lanterns hanging outside and a long huge signboard in red. If you are at the Mala Hotpot, the hotel is just a few steps away.

Take a lift to the 8th floor and once you step out from the elevator, you will see the white reception counter. The staff are very polite, nice, and helpful when you need anything. Let me tell you the policies of the hotel. All rooms have no bathroom or toilet. The bathrooms are outside next to the reception counter and all guests share. The shower area for men is divided by walls and a curtain only. There’s no door. Just imagine a hostel type of shower area. Don’t worry, you won’t be seen by anyone.

Since the name is called Inn Cube, the rooms are very small, just like those capsule hotel where once you open the door, the bed is just a foot away. There are a low desk with a table lamp, small T.V., a cabinet to put your stuff and a very small dustbin. There is practically no space for you to walk around the room, there is no windows, so you won’t know if it’s day or night, rain or sunshine.

For me, I’m fine with it. As long as I have a place to sleep and keep my luggage, I’m fine. I don’t mind sharing a common bathroom. If you are those travellers whom like to have a bathroom inside your room, a room with window, then this is definitely not suitable for you.

Overall, the whole hotel is very clean. They have an area for guests to sit, or to have meals or just chit-chat with your friends. There is a table full of brochures and travel guidebooks for guests to read about where to go, what to eat in Taiwan. The hotel also sells few items such as toothpaste, slippers, and some small cute souvenirs if you need any. Towel is provided in your room and if you need them to change it everyday, you must inform the staff at the counter. Shampoo and body gel are provided inside the bathroom if you didn’t bring any though some travellers prefer to use their own. Free Wi-Fi connection is provided in every room and even in the recreational area for guests.

Now, let me show you my single room in Inn Cube hotel.

The layout of my hotel room

The single bed in my room

The bed is surrounded by the walls on both sides of the bed so you cannot stretch your hands and legs, and when you want get up from the bed to stand on the floor, you have to move your butt or crawl until you reach the end of the bed. Don’t worry, the bed is not very high, it’s very low to the ground.

In conclusion, I am satisfied with the service and amenities provided by the hotel and the staff is very nice and helpful. On the last day of my stay, I booked their shuttle car to the airport and they told me they will bring my luggage down for me and take me down to the car. The shuttle car fare is TWD 950 (RM 124.50) 

If you ask would I return to the hotel again in future, I would say yes because of the location, the good service by the hotel staff, and the amenities. Although the room is very small, I think it’s not a problem to me as I go out the whole day for sightseeing and shopping and only come back late at night to take a shower and sleep.

Taiwan

My Taiwan Trip

September 20, 2016

Hi there!

I just came back from Taiwan yesterday night with my flight (Air Asia) touched down KLIA2 at 8:30pm. By the time I reached home, it was past 10. Before I begin with my trip, I want to talk about Malaysia’s airport. The distance from where the passengers get down from the airplane to the immigration checkout point is just insanely far! I was already tired from the lack of proper sleep and to make travellers walk so far and to walk down so many stairs is just poor floor planning.

I heard jokes about the reason for making us to walk so far before we reach the checkout point is because they are slow in taking out our luggage out from the plane to the claiming luggage area. That’s how they stall the time so that you won’t reach the luggage claiming area before the luggage arrives. Haha. I don’t know how true is this but after travelling to so many other countries, I don’t find other airports having such a long distance from the plane to the immigration counters.

Alright, enough about the airport. Now, let me share my experience of my Taiwan trip with you guys. One of the most often asked questions when you travel to a foreign country is how much (money) should I bring? And this is where I’m going to list down some of the things I bought to show you how much it is in Taiwan. 

*Please note that the currency rate exchange is TWD 1000 = MYR 131.00


  • 2.2L Mineral Water: TWD 33 (RM 4.30), if you buy 2 bottles, it’s TWD 49 (RM 6.40) 
  • Coke (small bottle of 500ml): TWD 39 (RM 5.10) 
  • A packet of sandwich from Family Mart: TWD 35 (RM4.60) 
  • T-shirt (individual shops outside shopping malls): ranging from TWD 190 – 500 (RM 25.00 – 65.50) 
  • Pearl Milk Tea: TWD 50 – 60 (RM 6.50 – 7.90) 
  • Breakfast (bun or noodles or rice with a drink): TWD 100 (RM 13.10) 
  • Japanese Ramen: TWD 120 – 250 (RM 15.70 – 32.80) 
  • Mee Suah (Small bowl): TWD 40 (RM 5.20) 
  • Large Fried Chicken at Ximending: TWD 70 (RM 9.20) 
  • Admission fee to National Palace Museum: TWD 250 (RM 32.80) 
  • MRT fare for one Single Journey: TWD 20 – 40 (RM 2.60 – 5.20) *Example: from station A to station B is TWD 20, then after your visit around that area, you want to go back to your hotel, so from Station B to Station A, you have to buy again another TWD 20 ticket. 
  • Bus fare for each zone: TWD 15 (RM 2.00) *if the place you want to go is the 2nd zone, you have to pay TWD 30 (RM 4.00) 
  • Movie ticket: 2D movie TWD 290 (RM 38.00); 3D movie TWD 360 (RM 47.20) 
  • Taxi fare from hotel to airport: TWD 1,000 (RM 131.10) *I took the shuttle car from the hotel I stayed which is TWD 950 (124.50) 
HOW MUCH PER MEAL? HOW MUCH FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER?

From my experience, if you only eat a bowl of noodles or a bowl of rice plus a drink for each meal, then you should prepare at least TWD 100 (RM 13.10) for each meal. Therefore, for 3 meals a day, you should prepare at least TWD 300 – 500 (RM 39.30 – 65.50)

TWD 500 for 3 meals a day + TWD 500 for all MRT/bus fare in a day or some snacks, small eats = TWD 1,000 a day (RM 131.10) if you plan to go for a week, TWD 1,000 X 7 = TWD 7,000 (RM 917)

Add TWD 3,000 for emergency or if you plan to go shopping for clothes and souvenirs. In grand total, take TWD 10,000 (RM 1,310) for a week’s trip to Taiwan.

For flight tickets and hotel room price, you have to search online to find the best deals. If you have any other questions regarding Taiwan trip, please send your questions in the comment. That’s all for now, but stay tuned for the next post for I will upload photos of the places I visited in Taiwan.

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